


How to Save a Life

by AlyKat



Series: Family Ties [2]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Video Game 2007), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Donny has a g/f that we meet in this fic, Early Work, F/M, Mikey and Gwen are married, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Raph is dating Angie, Turtle/Human relationships, in 2007
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-26
Updated: 2007-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-20 05:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4775237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyKat/pseuds/AlyKat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been two years since Gwen moved to New York. Things were working out great. Or so it seemed. When Gwen mysteriously disappears, it’s up to the guys to find her and hopefully save two lives. ::PART TWO OF MIKEYGWEN SERIES::</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. At the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This is a rather dark fic and has scenes of experimentation and torture performed on Gwen while she is expecting. I don't believe it's anything overly graphic, but do use your own judgment. I'll be sure to warn at the start of the chapters if they have scenes of experimentation and such in them, so you're prepared. 
> 
> Also, please note, if you happened to have read this over on fanfiction.net, you might noticed some pretty big changes being made to this. I've removed all first person POVs. The story is now completely third person. I would do this to "My Prince Charming..." but that fic is pretty much entirely first person, and I really just don't have the patience right now to do that. Maybe someday.

It was hard for Gwen to believe it had been two years since she’d left Illinois for her adventure to New York. It had been a scary yet exciting time, even if Angie kept trying to talk her way out of it. Now though, Gwen was sure Angie was glad she came along. After all, if she hadn’t, she never would have been knocked off her feet by Raph. Literally.

That had been an interesting evening. Gwen had to admit she had been a little caught off guard by Mike’s brothers. True they were everything he said they were and then some…it’s probably the “then some” that threw her off. Raph spent a lot of the night avoiding Angie at all costs just so he didn’t have to listen to her rant, though Gwen could tell he kinda found a strange interest in her. Probably the same strange interest Mike had in pissing him off. It was something to do and at the time it was fun.

Donatello stayed quiet most of the night, except to ask Gwen and Angie each some little questions or to stick in his two cents about a subject. Gwen took a liking to Don right away. He’s really a sweet guy if not a little too shy at times. He didn’t really stick around us too much that night. She’d later found out that he probably had gone off to work. Gwen never thought before that just because the voice on the other end of the phone when she had call to complain about her computer  _sounded_ human didn’t mean it  _was_ .

And then there was Leo. Though they all may have been 21, Leo had acted just as stuffy and up-tight as Gwen’s Great-Grandpa Edward. He hadn’t exactly looked all too thrilled to see Gwen or Angie standing there in their living room, and he seemed even less excited to hear Gwen say they were staying with them. Once things had somewhat settled down though, he dug in on the third degree. What were their backgrounds? Did either of them have any ties to anything that could potentially harm him or his brothers? Were Angie and Gwen planning on getting a topside job? If so how would they explain a blatant lack of address?

Gwen did finally get a job ‘topside’ and Angie even went so far as to rent out an apartment with her just so they both would have an actual address to put on their job applications. While working full-time a warehouse wasn’t exactly Gwen’s idea of a good time, it was better than dealing with cranky customers and total boredom. The best part though, was the shift itself. Seven a.m. to three p.m. and she got to spend the whole rest of the day and (maybe more importantly) the night with Mikey.

In the two years she and Mike had been together, Gwen had grown to love him in a way she never loved anyone else before. She no longer saw him as a turtle, instead she saw a wonderfully sweet guy who only wants to make everyone around him happy and to have fun. In fact, Gwen didn’t even give it a second thought any more when they made love—which, yes, it  _is_ possible.

It wasn’t long before the day came when Gwen and Mikey got as married as they could, given their circumstances, and it was truly amazed at how nice everyone had managed to clean their subterranean home up. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was still a mass improvement from what it had been only hours before.

Gwen truly couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect. Raphael had been Mikey’s best man, while Leo was his groomsman and Don had opted to be their ‘official’ photographer/videographer. Angie had been Gwen’s maid of honor with April as her second bride’s maid, and of course Splinter walked her down the aisle. When they originally started planning the wedding, Gwen was a little concerned as to how it was going to happen since Mikey couldn’t really go topside. It was only through pure dumb luck that Casey’s cousin Sam (who just  _happened_ to be a priest and just  _happened_ to owe Casey a favor) said he would take care of it for us. Even better, it turned out good ol’ Father Samuel was legally blind.

When the wedding was finished, there was a small, make-shift reception with cake and ice cream, before April drove them to upstate New York where Casey’s then deceased grandmother’s farm house still stood. No one would say how or when, but somehow everyone chipped in to get the place fixed up so that Mikey and Gwen could use it as their ‘honeymoon get away’. Fully stocked up on food, movies, and blankets— all the important stuff. It was also far enough off the road and hidden well enough that they didn’t have to worry about people seeing them; or more importantly, seeing him.

After a couple of weeks out in the fresh air, Gwen and Mikey reluctantly returned home and were surprised to find that everyone had once again come together to make them a slightly bigger bedroom and a bed that both of them could actually sleep on. Not that they didn’t both fit on his old one, but the guys thought since they were now married it might be a better idea for them to have a little bit bigger bed…not to mention one a little closer to the ground. It could get pretty scary sleeping six or seven feet off the ground in the middle of night with a turtle who likes to roll in his sleep, and especially scary with no protective guard rail around any of the sides. Over all, their little sewer home had become quite cozy and comfortable, and it was easy to forget at times that it was in fact a sewer.

Of course that wasn’t the only surprise they had set up for Gwen. After a few more days, she was finally allowed into a room they discovered some months before not far from the lair. For reasons she could never figure out, Leo and Donnie would never let her go with them to clean it out and fix it up into what she thought was going to be another dojo.

After being blindfolded and led down the small tunnel into the room, she found out why she wasn’t allowed in. When she was finally able to open her eyes and look around, Gwen was breathless. Oh how she wished she knew just  _how_ those guys came up with things! The room was wall to wall green plants and flowers of all sorts, heat lights and bags of potting soil, and even a timed automatic arrogation system running the length of the room. It was more than Gwen could have ever asked for, and was one of the only good surprises to have ever made her cry.

Until now…


	2. Is that Possible?

Donatello blinked a few times as he stared down into his microscope. He could not believe his eyes. All his life he never thought it was possible yet there he was with living proof that it was. It was actually pretty amazing, really. A scientific break-through that was forever going to change the four brothers lives. Silently he wondered how his younger brother would react. True Mikey had “matured” enough to get married but, was he mature enough to become a father?

Sitting back in his chair, Donatello smiled slightly. He was going to be an uncle! Hundreds of thoughts and questions began racing through his mind. Even though Gwen had been able to conceive, would she be able to carry it to term? What  _was_ the term for a baby that was going to be half human, half turtle? Would it be determined by human standards or turtle? What if it was somehow born in an egg? He and Gwen were going to have to try and figure out as much about it as they could and soon.

“Donnie? Can I come in?” a voice asked from his doorway. Donatello glanced over his shoulder and smiled as he saw his new sister-in-law standing there dressed in her Pajama’s and her hair pulled up into a messy pony-tail. Since their return from their honeymoon, Michelangelo and Gwen hardly left each others sides, except for the nights when Leo forced Mike out onto patrol. On those nights, Gwen would usually hang out with Donatello or in her green house. It was one of those nights that Gwen had not been feeling well and Don had offered to run some non-evasive tests on her to find out why she hadn’t been herself lately. Never once did it cross his mind that she could possibly be pregnant.

“Yeah, c’mon in. I was actually getting ready to come and find you.” He answered, smiling as he cleared off one of his ‘catch-all’ chairs for her to sit down. Giving a weak smile, Gwen walked in and sat down, instantly pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She knew she should have been in bed asleep since she had to be to work in the morning, but she had to find out if Don had figured anything out yet. As Don sat back down, she saw the smile on his face and was more than just a little confused.

“So…anything?”

“Yeah, actually. I don’t know how you two did it, but well, let’s put it this way, if Mikey smoked cigars someone should go buy him one. You’re pregnant.” He watched as Gwen’s face went from shock to disbelief to excitement in record time as she sat up straight in her chair.

“Are you serious? I…I’m pregnant? But, how? I mean…is that possible? I didn’t think our DNA could mix like that.”

“Apparently it’s not so different after all. My theory is that when we mutated into what we are now and took on human characteristics and mannerisms that our ability to reproduce also mutated into a near human like state. However, just as with humans, the child inherits things from both parents. In this case it could be anything from our coloring down to being nearly all turtle. Of course it could be just the opposite and they could come out looking all human. I really am not sure on any of this. This is the one thing about us I’ve never been able to run any sort of test on until now. It’s really very fascinating! I am going to have to run some more tests though and also find some way of rigging up an ultra-sound machine.”

Gwen wasn’t sure what to say or think. All her life she had never given much thought at becoming a mother, yet there she sat letting this news sink in. She bit her lip as she looked down at her tummy which was safely hidden behind her oversized PJ shirt. So that was why none of her blue jeans fit her anymore. Thinking back two months, she lifted her head to look back at Donatello.

“Just out of curiosity, how far along am I, or do you not know?”

“Well…I don’t know for absolute certain, but given your change in mood, appetite, and clothing style I’d say in the area of four months or so. Once I get an ultra-sound machine up and running I’ll be able to figure it out a little better. In the mean time, we have more pressing matters to try and figure out. I’d like to run a few more tests on you and possibly even try to get a small blood sample from the fetus if that’s alright with you, just to find out a little more about what we’re dealing with here.” He answered, giving her a small smile as he moved from his work table over to a small refrigerator unit to produce a bottle of soda. As he headed back towards her, Gwen felt her smile increase and a sudden rush of joy wash through her.

“Whatever kind of help you need, you’ve got. Just…don’t tell Mikey yet, I don’t want to tell him until we know what’s going on with this little one.”

“It’s a deal. Well, let’s get to work then!”

Gwen and Donatello set about on their “secret experiment” to create a homemade ultra-sound machine and to do any form of test they could think of to try and determine the gender of the baby and give a closer guess as to its due date. No one really knew what the two were up to for those next few days, not even Gwen’s closest friend Angela Miller who, like Gwen, had left her entire life behind her in Illinois to move to New York City so that Gwen could be with Michelangelo.

Mikey knew something had to be going on though, especially since most nights he fell asleep alone in bed and wake up the same way in the morning. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his brother, or Gwen for that matter, it was just that it was starting to make him wonder why she was starting to spend more and more time with Donatello than with him. A few times he offered to help them with whatever it was they were doing, but both quickly silenced themselves and told him they didn’t need any help and that he should go skateboard for awhile or practice his video games. That did not instill him with a lot of confidence about the two.

After nearly a week of his new wife sneaking off to do whatever it was she was doing with his own brother, Michelangelo decided it was time to either find out what was going on with them or flat out put a stop to it. Silently, Michelangelo moved from his bedroom and down into the living room to wait for Gwen to emerge from Donatello’s lab. He had the feeling that one of them would come out sooner or later to get a drink or grab a bite to eat, and he was determined to be there waiting when they did. Finally, he saw a triangle of blue light appear on the floor and a shadow step into view. When he heard Gwen’s quiet footsteps head for the kitchen, he stood and turned to face her.

“What’cha doin’ Gwen?” He questioned his arms crossed over his plastron and his face looking as blank as he could make it. Gasping, Gwen spun around with a hand over her heart and eyes wide. She stared at him for a moment in confusion before taking a deep breath and forcing herself to smile.

“Hey baby! I was just going to get a drink and then I was actually gonna come up to get you. Donnie and I—“

“Yeah, I kinda wanted to talk to you about that.” Mike said, cutting her off mid-sentence. Gwen knitted her eyebrows together in more confusion. It wasn’t like Mikey to cut her off mid-sentence, nor was it like him to sound so sullen. Stepping up closer to him, she tilted her head to the side and absentmindedly wrapped her arms around her ever growing tummy.

“Wanted to talk to me about what, Mikey?”

“About you and Donnie. Look…I know what’s goin’ on, I mean, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?” He questioned, lowering his arms and shrugging. Fear and panic suddenly washed over Gwen. How had he figured out she was pregnant? She hadn’t told anyone yet aside from Donnie and he had sworn not to tell Mike. Glancing down quickly, she gulped. She wasn’t showing  _that_ badly yet.  _Am I?_ She asked herself before looking back up into Michelangelo’s piercing blue eyes.

“Y-you do? It…it is?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, Gwen…I know I’m not nearly as smart as Donnie but I’m not exactly stupid either…well ok, I’m not as stupid as my brother’s think I am anyways. And plus, I mean, the whole lair knows.”

The color drained from Gwen’s face at that and she slowly placed a hand on the wall behind her to keep from falling down. How could they all have figured it out? Donnie went out during the night to get the things he needed for the ultra-sound machine and Gwen made sure to wear extra baggy shirts to cover anything that might have become noticeable. Gulping hard, she felt her chest start to tighten. This wasn’t supposed to be happening this way. She had it all planned out on how Mikey was supposed to find out. Of course, if this was how he was reacting to the news then maybe he wasn’t as excited about it as she thought he would be.

“Oooh boy…look, Mikey, I…I was going to tell you, honest I was. I just, well, I just didn’t know how and then—“

“Hey Gwen! I got it working! C’mon I think we should give it a try so that—oh, hi Mikey. Um…what are you doin’ still awake?” Donatello asked as he skidded to a halt just outside his lab room door. Michelangelo turned his gaze to Donnie and felt a pang of betrayal in his chest. How could his own brother do that to him?

“Nothin’…I was just headin’ up to bed…” He answered softly, the pain evident in his voice. Looking over at Gwen with his eye ridges knitted together, Donatello reached out and took Michelangelo’s arm.

“Hey, wait a second Mikey. I think you might want to see this too.”

“See what?” Mike questioned. Seeing his brother with his own girl was not exactly what he had planned on doing that night and when Donatello suggested that, Mike had to do everything within his power  _not_ to haul off and hit him. Gwen stepped up on his other side and placed her own hand on his shoulder gently. Normally that small gesture would lighten things up for him and make him feel better, that time though it made his gut wrench.

“Please Mikey? You don’t have to stay long, just…please look once? And…and if you don’t like it then…I…well…I don’t know what I’ll do but I’ll think of something.”

“I have the distinct feelin’ I’m  _not_ going to like it.” He muttered as the pair pulled him into the dim lab.

Glancing around, he was surprised to see that a small corner of the room had been set up to look nearly exactly like a hospital room. A bed with white sheets was in the corner next to some machines he had seen on TV that usually made annoying beeping sounds. Gwen released Mike’s arm and headed for the bed while Don rushed off to fidget with some things before following her. He watched in horror as Gwen climbed up onto the bed, a huge smile plastered on her face. He felt himself blush a little as he remembered a time she used to do that with him. Unable to watch, Mike stood off a ways with his eyes clamped shut.

“Come here Mikey. You’re not gonna see anything standing way back there.” Donatello called from the corner before instructing Gwen to tug her shirt up some. Stomach dropping, Mike shook his head.

“That was kinda the plan.” He answered back. Frowning some, Donatello moved over and pulled Mike by the arm, bringing him closer to Gwen’s side.

“Now just stand there. Aren’t you going to open your eyes?”

“I’d rather not.” Gwen glanced up at her husband and frowned slightly as she saw his eyes still clamped tight. She bit her lip some before looking over at Donatello as he readied the machine.

“Ok…this is might be cold at first. It’s supposed to warm on contact though so, hopefully it will.” Donatello said as he began to spread the clear gel like liquid on her abdomen. Pressing her lips together to keep from giggling, Gwen glanced at the bottle and felt her eyes go wide.

“Um…Donnie? Do I even want to know how you managed to get your hands on that stuff?” Donatello’s cheeks reddened slightly as he set the bottle down and spread the liquid across her stomach more. Glancing up at Mikey who looked about ready to cry, he shrugged and looked back at Gwen.

“I asked Casey to run out and get it. This thing won’t work unless it’s properly lubricated. Well, ok I suppose it could but it wouldn’t be as good.”

Michelangelo felt his blood begin to boil. The nerve of those two! Making him stand there and listen. Eyes still clamped shut; he forced the lump in his throat down as his fists tightened to the point of it being painful. Part of him wanted to run off and leave the two alone while the other part wanted to pummel Donatello’s shell in with his nunchakus. He could feel his heart shattering into thousands of tiny pieces as he listened to them banter back and forth like it was nothing. It was quickly becoming more than he could handle.

“Ok…here goes nothing.” He heard Donatello say. Gulping back the urge to scream, Mikey fought with all his might to keep his hands at his sides. He couldn’t believe what they were doing, and with him still in the room. How could his own brother—quiet, shy, brainiac Donatello—get such a kick out of that form of torture?

“Is that it? Oh my goodness…Donnie…it’s so big already.” Gwen gasped, staring at the monitor screen lovingly. She watched as the little blob on the screen shifted and moved about causing them both to chuckle some.

“Yeah, it is. Oh hey…look at that! It looks like he’s waving hello.” Donatello chuckled as he watched the small one move about some more and what appeared to be an arm wiggle about in a strange wave like motion. Michelangelo felt a low growl escape his mouth as his eyes opened into narrow slits.

“Alright! That’s it! A turtle can only take so much and you bro have gone  _beyond_ too much! And Gwen you—huh?” Opening his eyes completely, he stared blankly at his older brother and Gwen. Both were looking at him in confusion while the monitor still showed the ink-blot like picture moving around before him. He glanced down at Gwen’s bare stomach and saw that Donatello still had the transducer probe pressed against her skin.

“Um…what’s that?” He asked pointing up to the screen. Gwen looked at the screen and then back at him, her face looking more than a little confused.

“That? That’s our baby, Mike.”

Michelangelo stared at it in sheer amazement. There wasn’t anything going on between them after all. At least, he hoped. Still, he couldn’t help but watch as the tiny baby curled up a little and looked as if it had started to suck its thumb.

“Our what?”

“O-our baby. Mikey you said you knew about it already, why are you all of the sudden acting so surprised?” Gwen questioned, propping herself up on her elbows to get a better look at him. She could see his features soften tremendously and his shoulders drop as if a heavy burden had just been lifted. His blue eyes brightened back to their usual bright blue and the usually ever present smile return to his face as he looked back and forth between the three.

“Oh man! You mean you two aren’t…um…that is…uh…”

“Aren’t what, Mikey?” Donatello asked, wiping Gwen’s stomach off before turning the machine off as well.  He could see the redness creep into his brothers cheeks and suddenly knew what Mikey was thinking.

“Well it’s just that…I mean…I thought that you guys were…and that is…um…” Gwen bit her lip to keep from smiling as she tugged her shirt back down over her rounding stomach and sat back up fully.

“That Donnie and I were foolin’ around on you? Mikey, please…give us more credit than that. You know neither one of us could do something like that to you. He’s just been helping me. Wait a second…so when you said you knew…you didn’t really, did you? You thought you knew that Donnie and I…oh Mikey.” Gwen laughed, hugging him tightly as he looked on in utter confusion. Michelangelo glanced over Gwen’s shoulder to look at his brother who was smiling sheepishly. It was pretty silly of him to think that the two of them could be capable of such a thing.

“Wow so wait a second…y-you’re gonna have a baby? Th-that means that I’m… _I’m_ gonna be a dad? YAHOO!!!” He suddenly exclaimed, hugging Gwen up tightly in his arms as he spun her around. Gwen laughed more as she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. That was more the reaction she was hoping to get from him. As he placed her back down safely on the ground, he bent his head ever so slightly and gave her the sweetest kiss he could.

“Heh…someone should tell Raph and Angie to cool-it or else.” Donnie joked, turning off his machines and computer.

“Cool-it or else what?” A tired voice asked from the door. The three adults turned to face the voice and all couldn’t help but smile. Angela stood in the door dressed in an oversized button up shirt, baggy shorts and her hair a total rumpled mess.

“Or else you could wind up pregnant like Gwen.” Mikey laughed, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to his plastron. Angela looked between them both and then at Donatello who had a slightly smug smile plastered on his face. Knitting her eyebrows together, she pointed back at them.

“Is that possible?”


	3. "That's her"

By the time the rest of the family woke up and drifted into the living room, Gwen was already dressed and ready to leave for work. Not that she particularly wanted to go, but she knew she had to. Angela had sworn to keep her mouth shut about Gwen’s pregnancy even though they knew she was itching to tell Raph. She stood near Gwen, fidgeting and squirming as Raphael stumbled his way into the kitchen. He hadn’t put his bandana back on yet but Gwen could tell just by his coloring and mannerism that it was him. Pausing in mid-step, he turned and glanced at Angela.

“What’s got’chu so ansty dis mornin’?” he questioned, eye ridges squished together in tired confusion. Angela’s eyes shot wide open as she stood up a little straighter. Her eyes shifted nervously from Gwen to Mike and then back to Raph.

“Nothing. I don’t know anything. And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” She squeaked. Raph took a step closer and tilted his head a little.

“You a’right? Ya didn’t stay up watchin’ horrah movies all night again didja?”

“No! I’m fine! Stop questioning me! I know nothing!” Angela exclaimed racing from the kitchen and up the stairs to the room she then had all to herself.

“I already knew dat.” Raph muttered shaking his head as he pulled down his box of Lucky Charms. Pouring some into a bowl, Gwen heard a low growl rumble from him as he thumped the box down on the table.

“Now I know what’s gotten inta her…she ate all my marshmallows again!” he complained. Gwen bit her lip to keep from giggling as she slyly slipped the last few rainbow marshmallows into her mouth. Turning to face him, she gave him a sympathetic smile before patting his shoulder.

“Sorry Raph. But just think, only a few more weeks and she’ll be back to school.”

Raph gave a small snort like laugh as he poured the last of the milk over his now bland cereal. Shoving a spoonful in his mouth, he watched as Leo emerged from the dojo.

“I’d still like to know how a girl who thinks ‘I know nothing’ is a full sentence got to be an English teacher.” Leo joked before lifting the empty milk container and examining it intently. Gwen smiled and shook her head. She loved the way her brothers-in-law could take things in stride like that, never missing a beat for some form of remark or come back. She supposed that had come from all the years they had spent growing up with Michelangelo.

“I’ve been wondering that for years, Leo. Alright, I gotta get to work. If and when Mikey rolls his lazy tail outta bed, tell him I love him.” Gwen said kissing both men’s cheeks. Leo merely smiled and chuckled as he set about making himself toast and tea while Raph made his usual rude noise.

“Tell ‘im yourself. Last time I did dat he tried jumpin’ inta my arms.”

“That’s because he loves his big brother too.” Gwen laughed, grabbing her brown bag lunch and bottle of water out of the fridge. Leo chuckled under his breath—though he tried to cover it with a ‘cough’.

He hated to admit that he was less than thrilled to have two strange women move in with them at first. He had been quite content with it being just him, his brothers and Splinter. Somewhere in his mind he thought they would betray them somehow though now he knew how silly that was. It didn’t take him long to realize how much Gwen and Mikey loved each other and that she would never do anything to expose them. Angela was a totally different story though.

For the longest time the idea of living in the sewer didn’t sit well with her. The first few months they actually saw very little of her, which Raph tried to pretend not to care about. He tried to act indifferent when she would drop by to visit Gwen, but his brothers all saw his eyes change and soften some and his attitude become a little more “tough-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold” towards her. There was one night that Leo shadowed him when he went on patrol. What he saw utterly amazed him, almost causing him to blow his cover.

Raph had perched himself on the roof across from Angela’s apartment and watched as she made herself dinner before curling up to watch TV. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and it nearly wrenched his heart out not being able to get close to her. Leo was careful not to make a sound as he edged closer. He could hear Raph speaking but could not figure out the exact words. It was not his brothers hidden longing that nearly caused him to fall of the railing though. It was his unseen respect for her as she readied herself for bed that did it. He always pictured his brother as the one of them who would watch unabashed as a person of the opposite gender undressed. Raph was—after all—the one who “stumbled” upon the Playboy Channel when they were younger. Yet as Angela pulled her PJ’s out of her dresser, Leo heard Raph’s faint voice.

“G’night Angie. Sweet dreams of someone who ain’t me.” He said as he turned away from her window and leapt onto a nearby fire escape to disappear into the darkness. Leo wanted to race after him and confront him about what he’d just seen but he knew Raph would get defensive and deny the whole thing.

In fact, it was only about a year ago that the brothers returned home from a night on patrol to find Raph slouched back on the couch, eyes half closed as he stared blankly at the TV with a sleeping Angela cradled gently in his arms. It was then that Angela decided living in the sewers wasn’t so bad after all—at least part of the time anyway.

Leo was pulled from his thoughts and memories as he heard his youngest brother emerge from his room. Raising an eye ridge he glanced at Raphael who had busied himself with his cereal and pretended not to notice him. Mikey shuffled into the kitchen slowly, obviously still mostly asleep from the glazed look in his eyes. Dragging along the floor behind him was the tail-end of his bandana which he was barely hanging onto in one hand. Leo silently wondered to himself if Mikey was ever going to stop looking and acting so childish.

“Morning Mike.” He said, stepping over at the sink so his brother could get in for a drink.

“Eh.” Came the thick-voiced response. It was clear that he hadn’t gotten much sleep and it made his oldest brother chuckle softly.

“Gwen wanted me to tell you that she loves you.” Like someone flipping the switch in a dark room, Michelangelo’s face instantly lit up and his mood did a 180. Smiling from ear to ear, he wiggled in his shell some as he drank down his glass of water. He hadn’t told them Gwen was pregnant yet and it was  _killing_ him. The two hours he’d spent trying to sleep had been filled with pent up excitement and wonderment.

“Aw man! You mean she left already? Did she leave a kiss for me, too?” He questioned, smiling brightly and extending his head out some. Leo smirked and nodded towards Raph.

“Yeah, she left it with Raphael though, so you’ll have to get it from him.”

Eyes wide, a scowl instantly appeared on Raph’s face as he glared coldly at his older brother.  _Just you wait, Leo_ , he thought to himself,  _your days comin’._ Mikey smiled as he stepped closer to Raph. Suddenly no longer hungry, the red masked turtle lifted his bowl to dump the contents over Mike’s head.

“Get any closah an’ you’ll be wearin’ dese Lucky Charms.” He threatened. Having been Mike’s brother for twenty-three years, he should have known that threat would only egg him on. With a twinkle in his eyes, Mikey smiled and moved closer.

“Aw c’mon Raph! That kiss is rightfully mine! Now gimme.”

"You really want it Mikey? Ok…I’ll give it to ya.” Raph answered tipping his bowl over and dropping it –milk, bowl and all—onto his brothers’ head. Leonardo couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at Mike. Seeing him stand there—bowl as a crown—with milk and sugar coated pieces of cereal dripping down his face, reminded Leo of their childhood and all the silly stunts they use to pull on each other. Mike made a face before sticking his tongue out to lick the milk from off his face.

“Thanks for breakfast, bro, but I really wasn’t all that hungry.”

Raphael scowled and grumbled under his breath as he shuffled off to the dojo to do his morning practice. Despite the way he acted, Raph really did enjoy Mikey’s company and his jokes (sometimes lame as they may be). In a way, he wished at times he could be like him. True, two years earlier he and his other brothers caused Mikey to run away, but it was during his absence that Raphael realized how much he cared for him—no matter how immature he could be. Though he’d never admit it, Raph felt as though Mikey really was the glue that held the family together. Without him, they’d all be so serious that they’d probably end up killing each other.

Sighing and yanking a towel down from their shelf, Mike wiped his face before looking at the clock. It was barely six-thirty in the morning.  _Nine hours until Gwen’s back and I can tell them the good news._ He thought as he set the now dirty towel back down. It was going to take every ounce of training he had in him to keep from blurting out that he—funny, little baby brother Michelangelo—was going to have a baby all his own.

 

* * *

 

 

Gwen emerged from the sewer via the one man-hole constantly hidden from the public view. Glancing around quickly in case by the slim chance someone was around, she quickly pulled the cover closed and hurried out onto the street where her truck sat parked in front of the building her –sometimes used—apartment stood. She had to hurry if she was going to make it to work on time. So caught up in worrying about the time and traffic, she failed to see the two sets of prying eyes watching her every move from the fire escape above.

“Are you sure that’s her?”

“Of course I am. The doctor said to look for her here…and there she is.”

“Well…yeah…but…how does the boss know that’s her?”

The shorter, rounder one of the pair turned a sharp glare at their partner. Their beady black eyes glared holes into the green eyes of the other man. Yanking a photo from their dirty white lab coat, the shorter held it out.

“See? That’s her. And that’s the weirdo the doctor said he’d seen her with.” He answered, pointing between Gwen and Mikey. The taller man looked at the photo and tilted his head to one side in thought. The picture showed Gwen holding hands with Mike as they walked through what appeared to be a forest.

“Oh…yeah…I guess it is her. Um…hey Willie? How did he find out about them again?”

“How many times do I have to tell you, Greggory? Don’t call me Willie! It’s William. And he found them because of that old abandoned farm house he would go to in order to get away from your stupidity and they were there. Now c’mon…we have to go let him know we’ve found her and where she hides her freak friend.” The man now identified as William said as he stood and dusted the scuff marks from his lab coat. The man was rather short—only standing at five-foot-two with his shoes on—but what he lacked in height, he made up for in weight—being a hefty two-hundred-and-ten pounds. His thinning mop of jet black hair was slicked back and greasy looking and that combined with his beady black eyes made him appear to be a small, fat sewer rat that was always plotting something evil. A struggling scientist/inventor, he made his living running experiments and testing new products for a much larger company.

His partner in crime—not to mention younger brother—Greggory Markus was an exact opposite of him. Standing six-feet even and weighing only about one-hundred-eighty pounds, he reminded some of a flag pole. Grass green eyes combined with straw colored hair made him look like something of a gentle giant. Which was in fact, what he was. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, he was sent to work with William when he was only eighteen since no one else would hire him. He usually spent his time cleaning things and playing with the test mice which drove his brother batty.

Sighing, Greggory looked down at the photo again before putting it back into his blue jeans pocket. He didn’t understand what was so interesting about either Gwen or Mikey, but if his brother said this could be the break they needed, then he guessed they must be important. Getting up, he quickly stumbled after his older brother.


	4. Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard...

Usagi Higgins stared down at the streets below. All those people, each going about their own business, not knowing that so much danger surrounded their lives with each step they took. One minute they could be walking down the street, the next they could be lying on a cold slab with a blue sheet covering their face. From one-hundred stories up, the cars and people below looked like nothing more than ants, which was exactly how Usagi preferred to view them. Ants rushing to and from their own little colonies and he was the giant out to squish them all.

Thirty-five years old, Usagi was born of a strange union. His father—who was full blooded Irish—had met and married his mother, a full blooded Japanese beauty, on a trip to Japan when he was only twenty-two. Grady Higgins was the youngest president of his father’s pharmaceutical company which he had inherited at the age of twenty when his father died. He’d gone to Japan in hopes of convincing some of the locals to return to America with him and work in his labs when he met the beautiful daughter of the most powerful man in town. In exchange for food and shelter, Grady provided them with medicines and antibiotics for their local troops. However, by the time he was ready to leave, he’d already claimed Yoko as his own and was forced to bring her with.

Five months after arriving back in New York, Usagi was born. Named after Yoko’s older brother, he was the soul heir to one of the biggest empires in the United States. Brilliant and sophisticated, Usagi breezed his way through school and graduated from Harvard at the age of nineteen. By the time he was twenty-four he had already bought out every small pharmacy and medical equipment plant in the greater New York City area. At the age of twenty-six, he took over as President and CEO of Higgins Pharmaceutical Incorporation and went about devising ways to avenge his beloved cousin’s death.

As he stood there, hands clasped behind his back, and his perpetual look of distaste plastered on his face, he listened as his elevator dinged signaling the arrival of someone. He continued to face the window as the elevator doors glided open and the sounds of two arguing voices drifted into his sterile sanctuary.

“But Willie…”

“William!”

“Stewie’s my friend. You can’t inject that stuff in him. It will make him sick.”

“That’s the point. Now can it. Doctor Higgins, I have good news! We found the girl; she was right where you said she’d be. She appears to leave the sewers every morning at approximately six-twenty-five. She then drives a green Dodge Dakota down Columbus Ave heading east. Judging by her clothing and—“

“That is enough, Markus. You need not trouble yourself with analyzing her. All you need is to grab her and bring her to your lab. With her held under my control—“

“Don’t you mean our control? It is after all my lab.” William Markus cut in, crossing his arms and giving the much taller and far more foreboding man a dirty look. Usagi spun towards both men, his black eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

“It may be your lab, Markus, but it is my money that is keeping it from being foreclosed upon.” He growled, his prominent Japanese features darkened and threatening as he glared at William. Greggory gulped and shifted from foot to foot as he looked around nervously. He had always been intimidated by Higgins, though William told him the multi-millionaire was nothing but hot air.

“Once we have the girl those freaks will be forced to expose themselves, and when they do, my men will take care of them once and for all.” Usagi finished, his features returning to their normal expression and his eyes lightening a shade. Straightening his suit coat, he turned to move for his desk. Opening a drawer, he removed a small silver cylinder filled with a clear liquid. Once he sat that on the top of the desk, he reached back in to remove a small hand gun.

“You will take this tomorrow morning and wait for her outside of the alley. When she comes around the corner, shoot this into her neck. Then bring her to your lab. I will be waiting there.” Doctor Higgins stated, moving around his desk with the loaded tranquilizer gun. Handing it to William, he crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Greggory looked at the gun in horror and confusion.

“Why do we have to shoot her? Can’t we just ask her to come along? She seems like she’s nice…”

“Shut up Greggory. No one told you to talk.” William growled, pocketing the tranquilizer gun before straightening up. Usagi gave a small smirk—very small—when he heard Greggory’s innocence. Turning, the Japanese-Irishman slowly walked back to the window.

“That is all gentlemen. You showed yourselves in, you may show yourselves out.”

* * *

 

“I’m not going to tell you and you can’t make me!”

“Oh…I t’ink I can. C’mon…what’s gotten inta ya taday?”

Angela pressed her lips together and crossed her arms over her chest as she shook her head repeatedly. Since Raph left the dojo that morning, he’d been trying to get his—still unofficial—girlfriend to explain why she was acting like a guilty little kid all day. Though she had been able to ignore him for most of the day, she suddenly found herself trapped in their bedroom, more to the point, on their bed. Wiggling out of Raphael’s tight grasp was easier said than done, especially as he did his absolute worst to her hormones. Finally prying her arms under his, Angela managed to slide out from his hold and jump off the bed.

“I’m not going to tell you, Raphael! And don’t think that seducing me will work either. I mean…seducing me will work for a lot of other things but not when it comes to telling you that Gwen’s…Ooooooh no you don’t!” Angela exclaimed, pointing a finger at him as she stepped away from the bed. Raph quickly sat up, his eyes hinting at his aggravation.

“That Gwen’s what? C’mon Angie…you can tell me. I ain’t gonna tell anyone.”

“Who could you tell? You and Leo and Master Splinter are the only ones left who don’t know that she’s pregna—oh fudge.” She muttered softly, the color draining from her face as she gave a slightly nervous chuckle. Raph’s eyes went as wide as saucers as he leapt from his bed. Springing to cut Angela off at the door, he grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him.

“Gwen’s pregnant?”

“No!”

“Angela…”

“No…n-no…” Gulping, Angela whimpered and clamped her eyes shut and Raph continued to get answers from her.

“That ain’t possible! How could she be pregnant? Damn…Mikey finally did somet’ing right in his life!” Raphael exclaimed, releasing her shoulders as he smiled and shook his head. Angela groaned and smacked her head into the door frame gently. How could she convince him that Gwen wasn’t? Even though she really was.

“Oooooh…Mikey and Gwen are gonna kill me. Not to mention Donnie. Who by the way informed me that if you aren’t careful, I could very well wind up like Gwen. And I don’t know about you but I’m not exactly in any great hurry to be chasing little Raphael’s around the lair. Especially not if they’re as bad as you!” Angela rambled quickly, jabbing at Raph’s plastron to emphasize her point. Smirking, Raph took her hand and shrugged nonchalantly. Kissing her cheek, he stepped to the side and turned back to look at her.

“Won’t happen…don’t’cha worry about it.”

“Yeah…you saying not to worry, makes me worry. Raph, I’m serious. You can’t let Mikey know that you know. They swore me to secrecy! They wanted to surprise you guys tonight when Gwen got home. Please, please, pleeeease don’t let on that you know? Please?” She pleaded, her green eyes begging him to keep quiet. Raphael chuckled as he flopped back down on his bed. Arms crossed under his head, he gave a small shrug.

“I won’t say a word ta anybody. Cross my heart.” He answered, though in his mind he was already going over the best ways to torture his youngest brother about it. Glancing at his alarm clock, he sat up to get off the bed again.

“Well…I should prob’ly go see who Leo’s got planned for goin’ on patrol tanight. I’ll talk ta ya latah.” He said, climbing off the bed and kissing her cheek quickly before heading to the door. He was glad that Angela had moved from the door so that she wasn’t able to see the evil smirk he was trying so hard to hide.

“Raph? I mean it. You breath a word of this to either Mikey or Leo…you’re done for a year. And I do mean a year. And if you don’t think that’s not possible…go ahead and try it.” Angela called from her place near their dresser. Chuckling, Raph glanced over his shoulder and gave a small smirk.

“’Ey…I said I wouldn’t…an’ I won’t.”

Jumping down from the railing, Raphael gave an evil smile as he moved off towards the couch. Mikey was sprawled out on the floor on his stomach, arms and head propped up on a cushion as he raced his car around a desert track on his video game. Leave it to Mikey to resort back to his child like comfort zone when things got serious. Snickering, the red masked brother sat down on the couch and placed his feet on Michelangelo’s shell.

“Hey dude! Watch the shell! I just had it waxed last night!” Mikey exclaimed jerking his body in motion with his car as it sped around a corner at a sickening pace.

“Oh I bet’cha did.” Raphael answered, his tone hinting at his hidden innuendo of Mikey and Gwen being romantic together the night before. Shrugging off his confusion, Mike continued to compete against another car in an attempt to win the computerized car race.

“Ya prob’ly had it waxed a few months ago, too, huh?”

“Uh…yeah? Dude…don’t distract me! This stupid computer has beaten me like, ninety times and I’m not gonna let it do it again, this time!”

Chuckling to himself, Raph stood back up and shrugged before heading off towards the kitchen. He was glad to see Leo sitting at the table drinking a cup of green tea and reading one of his many ninja magazines. Two birds, one shuriken. He thought to himself. Casually, Raphael opened the refrigerator door and pulled out the carton of orange juice.

“Hey Leo? Lemme ask ya somet’ing. Ya evah thought about what’d it be like ta have half-pints runnin’ ‘round dis joint? Ya know…like we use ta? Gettin’ inta trouble, scopin’ out da sewers, learnin’ ta be ninjas…stuff like that?” He questioned calmly as he poured himself a small glass of juice. Leo knitted his eye ridges together and looked up from his magazine in confusion. It was an odd subject to begin with, but to have Raph be the one to bring it up confused the daylights out of the blue masked leader.

“Um…no, not really. Why do you ask?” Leo asked slowly, his head slightly cocked to one side as he watched his brother carefully. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Michelangelo’s head and upper body shoot straight up and his wide eyed gaze stare into the kitchen at Raph in horror. Something was definitely up, and as leader, Leonardo hated being left out of the loop. Shrugging his shoulders some, Raphael leaned against the counter and took a slow, deliberate sip from his glass to hide his mischievous smirk.

“Just wonderin’. Cuz I mean…ya know, Mikey an’ Gwen are married now and…well…ya know what dey say ‘First comes love, den comes marriage, den comes Mikey wid da baby carriage.’” He answered in a semi-sing-song way. It was killing him not being able to laugh as he watched his youngest brothers’ face become more and more panicked. Lucky for Michelangelo though, Leo seemed to think Raph was using Mikey as a cover for himself. Face becoming sterner, Leonardo crossed his arms as he sat back a little ways.

“Raphael, what are you talking about? Did you get Angela in trouble, because I swear on Master Yoshi’s grave if you did—“

“What? No I didn’t get Angela in trouble!”

“Then what are you talking about?”

You gotta be kiddin’ me!? Leo can’t be THAT dense not ta catch on! Raph thought to himself as he stared at his eldest brother in disbelief. Grinding his teeth together for a moment, he finally relaxed a little and shook his head.

“I’m sayin’ dat it’d just be interestin’ if it were possible for us ta have kids, ya know?”

“Raph, are you sure you didn’t get Angela into any kind of trouble? You’re acting really strange all of the sudden.”

“Angie ain’t pregnant, ok! Jist drop it! All I’m sayin’ is dat now dat Mikey’s married an’ ev’ryt’ing it’s got me thinkin’ dat maybe dere’s a chance for us. ‘Ey Donnie! Is dere a chance dat now you could run dat test ta see if our DNA was compatible wid human’s ta have kids? I mean…like is it possible dat Mikey and Gwen could—“

“No.” Donatello answered shortly, his beak still buried in a book as he walked from the dojo towards his workshop. Raphael smirked once more and shrugged.

“No what? No ya haven’t done it, or no it ain’t possible?”

“It’s not possible for Gwen to get pregnant. At least not right now anyways. Yes it’s possible for our DNA’s to mesh, but she just isn’t capable of getting pregnant. Angela on the other hand…well, let’s just put it this way, you two better be careful or it could turn into ‘along came Raphie with the baby carriage.’” He said, lifting his head as he walked by. The smirk disappeared from Raphael’s face as his hand tightened on the innocent glass he was holding. Glaring between the blue and purple masks he felt his patience slip and his hot-temperedness take over.

“Look! If ya wanna talk ta someone about somet’ing like dat, den talk ta Mikey! He’s da one who’s gotten his shell waxed at da right time on da right night an’ gotten Gwen pregnant!” Raph finally exclaimed, the words leaving his mouth before he even had time to think about them. As he did, he mentally kicked himself in the tail. He hadn’t intended on flat out announcing that he knew, he’d merely meant to make his little brother sweat for awhile. In the back of his mind he knew that the minute Angela found out, he’d be sleeping alone every night for a very, very long time. Cringing inwardly, he watched as his three brothers jaws dropped and the already light green color drain completely from Michelangelo’s face.

“What do you…Mikey!? What’s Raph talking about? Did you…is Gwen…she’s actually pregnant?” Leo questioned as he turned to face his still shocked brother. Like a deer caught in the headlights of a car, Mikey felt his breathing become ragged and a rush of fear wash over him.

“Uh…uhhh…D-Donnie? Help!” he exclaimed, diving behind the brains of the family. Arms folded over his plastron, Donatello sighed heavily as he shook his head and stepped to one side, leaving Mikey completely exposed to his brother’s bewildered expression.

“At the risk of breaking doctor/patient confidentiality, I’m not at liberty to answer that question. But, why don’t you ask the father? He can tell you.” Donnie answered slyly before closing his book and giving a playful smirk at the still panicking Michelangelo.

“Doctor? Who made you doctor?” Raphael questioned, turning his attention from Mikey to Donnie. Raising an eye ridge, Donatello reopened his book and held it out to his other brother.

“Do you want to be the one who delivers the baby and then removes the placenta? If you want to, please, be my guest. Heaven knows I’m not too thrilled about it.” He answered, showing Raph a detailed diagram of the delivery process for a healthy, human fetus. Feeling himself turn a darker shade of green, Raph shoved the book back at Don and shook his head.

“Have at it, doc.” He answered softly, looking down at the floor to keep his lunch from making a grand re-entrance. Both Donatello and Leonardo smirked before looking back at their orange masked little brother who was giving his best, innocent, wide mouth grin.

“Alright Michelangelo…spill it.”

* * *

 

Gwen smiled to herself as she danced her way through the New York City sewer system. She was glad to be finished with work for the day, especially since it seemed to be the warmest day of the year and the warehouse she worked at had everything imaginable—except for a working air conditioning system. That coupled with the fact she had to inform her supervisors of her pregnancy and her request for maternity leave made for a very long and tiring day. The only thing she wanted to do was go home, take a nice relaxing bath, and then curl up on the couch in Mikey’s arms while they planned different ways of telling his brothers and father.

Though she was under strict orders from Donatello to take it easy and get plenty of rest, she found it impossible to sleep the night before. Her restless night was partly due to her antsy husband’s tossing and turning and partly due to wanting to stay up and plan things out. She had managed to come up with a narrowed down list of names which she had hidden safely in her lower dresser drawer, along with a mini-sketch of what she hoped she could make the baby’s room look like. A part of her wished she was able to raise the child topside where it could get all the fresh air and sunshine that a growing child needed, but she knew that would never be possible. However, she had already decided that at least every other weekend, she and Mikey and the baby would take trips upstate to the old farm so the baby wouldn’t grow up with a fear for the outdoors.

Giggling to herself, Gwen hummed a silly song as she wrapped her arms around her tummy and descended the short flight of stairs that led to the lower level where their home was located. She had learned the song when she was a little girl in her grade school music class and though it was nothing special she found her circumstances with living in a sewer and having a reptile for a husband brought a new amusement to it.

“Did you ever step in a water pipe, pipe fall to the bottom of the water system? And there did you meet a little alligator who answered to the name of Alvin? If you did he’s mine. I lost him. I threw my Alvin down the water pipe, pipe down to the bottom of the water system. Because he was getting too big for his britches but now I’m getting lonely since he’s gone. I miss him.” She sang cheerfully as she opened the heavy brick door and entered the lair. Once the door was closed behind her and she was half way down the stairs, she was greeted by her three oldest brothers-in-law. Leonardo and Raphael were clearly trying to make it seem like they didn’t know she was pregnant while Donatello merely tried to make it seem like he didn’t know them. Raising an eyebrow, Gwen attempted to slide past them.

“Um…hi guys. Something I can help you with?” She questioned.

“No. Is there anything we can help you with though?” Leo asked back politely as he gently took her by one elbow as Raph took her by the other.

“Yeah? Drink? Food? Entertainment?” Raphael piped in as they helped her down the stairs. Gwen’s eyebrows arched and shifted together as she looked at them as if they both had just grown two more heads. Rolling his eyes, Donatello folded his arms over his plastron and followed them back down to the living room area where the two oldest turtles sat Gwen down on the couch and propped her feet up on the table.

“Um…no…I’m good right now. I’d actually planned on going to take a bath but um…I guess I could watch TV for awhile first.” She answered, still confused as to what had them both acting so strangely.

“I’ll do it!”

“I got it!” They both exclaimed nearly trampling each other to get to the bathroom first in order to draw a bath for her. Dropping her feet to the floor, Gwen pushed herself up and spun to look at them.

“RED LIGHT! Both of you! Put it into reverse and tail it back over here. What’s gotten into you two? You’re acting…overly polite and…just…plain polite!” She questioned her hands on her hips as she looked them both over. Both of the men plastered the fakest innocent smiles Gwen had ever seen onto their faces as they shook their heads.

“Nothing Gwen.” They answered in stereo. Shifting her weight to one side, she raised an eyebrow at them again.

“That was a little too ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’-ish of an answer for me to believe. Donnie, what’s gotten into them?” She finally asked, looking to the one turtle she knew wouldn’t lie. Giving a sheepish smile, he glanced at the floor before looking back up at her. She was going to hate him for helping to tell them she was pregnant, but that was to be expected, especially since Michelangelo also no longer wanted to talk to him—at least not at that moment.

“Um…Gwen…they sorta found out that you um…that you and Mike…”

“Dat we’re gonna be uncles.” Raphael answered a real smile actually on his face for the first time that Gwen had ever known him. Her heart sank as she heard those words leave his lips and she felt her throat start to tighten a little. Pressing her lips together, she frowned and sat back down on the couch.

“Great…so now you guys know and now I’m stuck with Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, and Doctor Howard…” she mumbled as she shook her head and looked at her hands. She wasn’t even sure they had caught her reference until she heard Leo chuckle.

“Na-yuck-yuck.”


	5. And Then the World Stopped

The rest of that night Gwen tried her hardest to ignore both Leo and Raph as the followed her around. Any outsider would have thought it sweet and gallant that they were willing to wait on her hand and foot but to Gwen, it was the most annoying thing in the world. She wondered if they still would have acted that way if she and Mikey had been able to surprise them with the news like they had wanted to. _Probably_ , she thought as she slowly walked the stairs to her and Mike’s bedroom, _this is Leo and Raph we’re talking about here. Hell, they’d probably be worse if we’d surprised them. Of course…how could they get much worse?_

She chuckled as she thought about the rest of that evening. When she had gotten home and found out everyone already knew that she was pregnant, she tried to escape her husband’s brothers so that she could go and talk to Angela about letting it slip. However, they stuck to her like glue and wouldn’t even let her hardly go to the bathroom on her own. Finally though, they’d been sent out on patrol and Gwen was able to get some peace and quiet. She was able to confront her best friend and after a long and frustrating talk, they worked things out and though Gwen was still upset, she managed to find it in her heart to forgive her. Once she’d finished her talk with Angela, she was confronted by Splinter. The wise old rodent had also heard through his three sons about Gwen and Michelangelo’s impending childbirth. With a bright smile, he placed his boney hands on her arms and gave her his blessing (along with the request that they raise the child to learn the ways of ninjitsu…and to call him Grandpa Splinter).

After promising to do both, Gwen was finally allowed some time to herself. She was glad she had such a large family that was more than happy to keep an eye on her, but there were times when all she really wanted was to curl up with a good book…alone…in the quiet. Knowing an opportunity when she saw one, she quickly hurried into the bathroom with her small boom-box, fluffy robe, love worn Eeyore slippers, and two towels. She was going to get her relaxing bath if it was the last thing she did! Filling the tub with warm water and bubbles, she turned her music on, dimmed the lights and slipped in for a little while. She was still amazed that she and Mikey had been able to create a little person who was proof positive that the others had a chance in the world.

It was after she’d finished her bath and told her two lair companions good-night that she trudged up the stairs to her bedroom. She didn’t usually like going to bed alone, but after how warm it was that day and how tired she was, Gwen wasn’t going to complain that night. She had just turned out the lights and curled up in bed when she saw a light glide across the floor and give a soft glow to the room. Pressing her lips together tightly to hide her smile, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep as the silent shadow shuffled from the door to a chair. She could hear her intruder mumbling things under their breath as the soft thud of two heavy objects hitting the soft chair reached her ears. Once the door closed again, Gwen’s eyes opened into the darkened room once more just as the bed beside her sagged and sheets shuffled.

“Rough night, Mikey?”

“Ugh…Leo and Raph wouldn’t leave me alone! Raph kept bein’ a jerk…but what else is new? And Leo…well…he was just being his paranoid self.” Michelangelo answered, wrapping his arms protectively around Gwen’s tummy and gently pulling her so her back was pressed flat against his plastron. His large, three fingered hand rested gently on her stomach which was beginning to bulge out slightly as their little one continued to grow. Mikey couldn’t help but continue to wonder what it was going to look like when it was born. _Guess I’ll know when it’s born._

Nuzzling his beak into the back of her neck, Mikey took a deep breath and smiled to himself. He always loved the way her hair smelled, especially after she just washed it. It was always so soft and smooth against his face and smelled like vanilla and coconuts, just like her shampoo. And the skin he felt glide over his arms as Gwen held herself to him, felt like the finest and softest silk he could ever imagine. Slowly and gently, Mikey slipped his hand just under the hem of Gwen’s PJ shirt to rest it on the bare skin of her stomach just as he’d done hundred’s of nights before. That night, for some reason, Mikey felt his heart tighten in his chest as if it knew that was the last time he’d be able to do that for a very long time.

Gwen smiled to herself as she snuggled back against him and closed her eyes. She loved being spooned up with Mike like that; it felt so right, like two matching puzzle pieces fitting together seamlessly. Sighing, she giggled softly as she felt her husband’s gentle touch rub lightly over her skin.

“I’m sorry babe. But hey, think of it this way, maybe once the baby is born they’ll be more than willing to be nice uncies and take the little squirt for awhile so mommy and daddy can have some time alone.” She answered, tilting her head back a little so it was against his shoulder. His warm breath sent tingles through her as he chuckled into her ear. Man alive! The things that turtle could do to her.

“That’s doubtful. Well…maybe at first but…after awhile they’d probably get bored and lose interest.” He joked. Still feeling as if something bad was going to happen, Michelangelo closed his mouth and breathed in deeply in an attempt to figure out what could be wrong. He’d wished he’d paid more attention when Sensei taught them to meditate and channel energies. That sort of stuff was always the others strong points, Mikey went strictly on gut instinct and his ninja intuition.

“Mikey? Is something wrong hon?” Gwen finally asked after not hearing anything for a moment or two. Mike opened his eyes and gave a forced smile, though in the dark and with her back to him Gwen could never see it.

“Uh…yeah…I mean…I dunno. I have this feeling that something bad is gonna happen. Um…I know it’s a long shot but…any chance you’d consider stayin’ home tomorrow?” He asked softly, his hand leaving her stomach to go thru her silk like hair. Knitting her eyebrows together, Gwen slowly rolled herself over so she was facing him and in the darkness she could almost make out the worried outline of his face.

“Mikey, I wish I could but…I can’t miss work. I only have a couple more months left before I can leave on maternity and we need the money. With the way you boys go through pizzas and Angela on soda…we need all the money we can get right now. Plus we’ll need diapers and formula, baby clothes…and I know you boys survived on city dumb finds, and I’m fine with it for you and me, but…I want the little one to have a new crib, and changing table, and dresser, and a light. Oh boy, this is gonna get expensive…” Gwen trailed off as that thought finally struck her mind and sent her nerves wailing. Shoving the worries of something bad happening aside, Michelangelo wrapped both his arms around his wife and held her close to comfort her.

“Shh…it’ll be ok. My bro’s will help out, you know that. Everything’s gonna be just fine. Just…promise me you’ll be careful tomorrow? In fact, I’m gonna go with you as far as the alley to make sure you get to the truck ok. Then if the cost is clear, I’m gonna rooftop trail ya to work.” Sniffling softly, Gwen gave a small smile as she looked through the darkness and into Mikey’s blue eyes. Even in the darkness, she knew his eyes were shinning just as bright a blue as ever. And hearing the concern in his voice made her fall in love with him all over again.

Bringing her right hand up, she placed it on his cheek and trailed her fingers over the place his orange eye mask would usually sit. _How did I get so lucky as to find a sweetheart like you?_ She thought, raising her head a little to press her lips against his. Feeling his hold on her tighten a little, Gwen smiled into the kiss until Mike carefully rolled onto his shell with her lying atop him. Pulling back and smiling, Gwen laughed and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. She loved when he did silly things like that in order to lighten the mood when things got too serious. Of course, it was silly things like that that led to her getting pregnant in the first place. Lifting her head once more, she looked down to see his loving smiling face.

“I love you, Mikey.” She said softly. She was amazed to know there was a kind of love out there that was so deep and profound that it actually _hurt_ and made a person want to cry because they loved some one _that much_. Michelangelo’s smile grew as he rested his hands on her hips.

“Love ya more.” He answered playfully.

“Love me more than what?” It had become a game ever since their wedding night that whenever he told her that he loved her more, Gwen would always ask ‘more than what?’ Smirking, Mikey slyly began working her PJ top up and over her head before raising an eye ridge suggestively.

“Definitely more than pizza.”

* * *

 

The next morning, Gwen groaned and yanked the blanket over her head. She didn’t want to get up and go to work, and with the way her stomach was churning, she figured the little one wasn’t too thrilled with the idea either. Sighing, she gave a soft gasp as she felt a hand move and gently grasp at the soft, bare skin on her chest. Hearing the quiet snores behind her, she gave a small smile and lifted Mikey’s hand from its resting place. After the mild work-out they’d had the night before, both were too tired to move (and in Gwen’s case redress). Slowly tugging the blanket back down, she squinted at her alarm clock. _Six-fifteen? That can’t be right_. She thought, grabbing her glasses and slipping them on. When she did, she almost wished she hadn’t.

“Six-fifteen!? Oh no…not good. Damnit Mike…why didn’t you turn my alarm on like you usually do?” She questioned softly, quickly pulling herself out of bed and rushing to get dressed. Forgetting her promise from the night before, Gwen slid into her work shoes, grabbed a few dollars from their savings jar and rushed down the stairs, leaving Mikey to continue sleeping soundly in bed.

The others were all awake and sitting in the kitchen when Gwen came rushing through. Hardly even saying good-morning to any of them, she grabbed the bagel out of the toaster before Donatello could and went running for the door. Blinking in tired confusion, Don looked at his hand, then the toaster and then the door where Gwen was struggling to open it.

“Hey…that’s my breakfast!”

“Sorry Don. I’m in a hurry though! My alarm didn’t go off and I’m most likely going to be late now! See you guys later!” She called over her shoulder as she finally got the stubborn door to open and went running out.

Throwing caution to the wind, she continued to run through the slick sewers, checking her watch in between bites of her stolen plain bagel. Making it to the surface in record time, she shoved the man-hole cover off and scurried out. Yanking the keys from her pocket, she pushed the heavy metal cover back over the hole with her foot before running down the alley. She was so preoccupied with what she was doing, that she never even saw the two men lurking in the shadows ready to pounce. In fact, it wasn’t until she felt a sudden pinch in her neck and a wave of nausea wash over her that she remembered Mikey’s promise to follow her in case anything happened.

Her hand went to her neck where she felt the small, silver cylinder protruding from her skin. The world around her suddenly grew louder and louder as everything began to tumbled and spin in a sickening whirlwind. She felt herself falling as the sun started darkening and the city sounds that were so loud a moment before stopped just as suddenly as they started. Gwen wanted to scream out for help; wanted to reach for her cell phone so she could call Don or Leo to come and save her, but nothing on her body wanted to cooperate. It felt as if a blanket made of led had been placed over her. _What’s going on? Wh-what’s happening? Oh…oh God…oh please…don’t…don’t hurt… me…_ she thought, though even her brain was beginning to slow down. Feeling as if the earth was going in slow motion, Gwen blinked once before looking up into two very unfamiliar faces. And then, the world stopped all together and things went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Main character kidnap and the start of experimentation.

Michelangelo sat straight up, his eyes wide and sweat pouring down his face. He couldn’t explain it, but that nagging feeling in the back of his mind from the night before seemed to manifest itself over night into the worst nightmare he’d ever had in his life. Panting heavily, he looked around his room in horror. Everything seemed to be in its right place except for the cool, empty place next to him where Gwen had been sleeping the night before. Glancing at the clock, Mikey cried out in surprise before jumping from bed and racing out of the room. He’d over slept! He just hoped Gwen hadn’t left yet, or at least, not long before. Not even bothering to replace his bandanna and pads, he slid down the railing and looked around.

“Have you guys seen Gwen? Did she leave already?”

“Yeah, she left like two minutes ago.”

“You just missed her.” Donnie and Angela answered, neither one looking away from the TV. Leo looked up from his book and frowned. Something was not right, he’d felt it the night before when they were on patrol and that morning when he woke up he’d felt it even more. He suddenly wondered if perhaps his youngest brother had been having the same feelings as well.

“Why Mikey? What’s wrong?” He asked slowly, trying to read the panic look that was on Mike’s face as he rushed up the stairs leading to the door. Shaking his head, he grabbed his board and opened the door.

“I dunno. Something…maybe nothing…I gotta find her though! I promised I’d trail her on her way to work to make sure she got there ok!” He yelled back. Dropping his skateboard to the sewer floor, Michelangelo took off like a bat out of hell, flying through the tunnels as fast as he could in hopes of catching up to her. If she really only had a two minute jump on him, then he should be able to catch up. Heart pounding, his vision began to blur as he thought of something happening to Gwen and the baby.

Skidding to a halt under the ladder she used to go topside, Mikey scrambled up it and, not even thinking, popped himself up and into the open alley. He could feel his world spinning as he quickly ducked into the shadows and glanced out into the open street at the end of the alley. He could just make out the nose of Gwen’s truck. Heaving a sigh of relief, he crept through the shadows to get a better look. It wasn’t until he got closer that he realized there was no one in the truck.

Looking around in confusion, he thought about where she might have gone instead of straight to her truck. Ignoring his better judgment, Michelangelo stepped into the street. Head spinning with panic, he began to scan the area for any kind of clue he could get. He was so caught up with his search that he didn’t hear the sound of cloth moving around above him.  _Where are you? Where are you?_ He asked to himself as he scanned the streets quickly.  _Gwen? Why didn’t you wake me up?! Where could you be?_ Taking a step forward, he stopped and looked down.

“Gwen’s phone? She never just…uh-oh!” He exclaimed, scooping to pick it up just as a barrage of darts flew down around him, ricocheting off the sidewalk and his tough outer shell. Head shooting up, he barely caught sight of more than a dozen black clad men standing on the rooftops and fire escapes holding the guns responsible for the barreling dart storm.

Diving back into the alley, Michelangelo tucked and rolled his way to the safety of a garbage dumpster in order to regain his composure. Why was he all of the sudden getting bombed by people in black? And if they were targeting him then what if they…forcing himself to think about the situation at hand, he changed his concern to how he was going to make it back down the man-hole without getting hit. Narrowing his eyes, he gathered his courage and made a running break for it. He had to get back to his brothers. He had to get their help.

Dodging the sharp darts that fell like rain from the sky, Mikey panted and heaved as he used every bit of his training to avoid being hit. He wasn’t sure what the darts would do to him, but he had a pretty good idea they weren’t going to make him any taller. He’d almost made it to the man-hole when the darts suddenly switched to smaller, deadlier, bullets. Feeling the gun propelled death pills whooshing past him, he knew it would only take one crack-shot to take him out permanently. He’d almost made it to the man-hole when a hot flash of pain tore through his upper left shoulder and the back of his right thigh.  _How is it I’m always the one gettin’ used for target practice?_ He thought, using all his training to block the pain and urge to scream as he scrambled down the hole and into the safety of the sewers.

“I…gotta tell…the guys…” He panted, doing his best to get back to the lair before he fainted.

 

* * *

_“But…I don’t understand. You two are…well you’re supposed to be…um…”_

_“Dead? Yes, I know…we are.”_

_“That’s impossible. This has gotta be some crazy, tripped out dream. That’s the last time I let Mike talk me into eating a pepperoni and gummy worm pizza before bed.” Gwen mumbled to herself as she paced the already trampled grass. She was standing in what appeared to be a field, talking to who seemed to be her deceased parents. Wrapping her arms around her stomach protectively, she turned back towards her parents._

_Her father, Jason, had been a fairly tall man when he was alive with striking brown eyes and wavy black hair. Sarah, her mother, on the other had had been short and petite with long curly brown hair and hazel green eyes. Gads how she had missed her parents, even if when they were alive they hardly paid much attention to her. Now, as they stood there before her, she couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something still wasn’t right about it all. Even when she was younger they’d never been overly or openly loving towards her, and hardly ever called her by any sort of endearment._

_“Gweny, your father and I wanted to talk to you about Mike. We’re concerned about you. We’ve been keeping an eye on you and well…Mike’s not exactly…”_

_“Human.” Jason answered, crossing his arms over his chest. Gwen knitted her eyebrows together and frowned._

_“Yeah, he’s a mutated turtle, so what? Just because he_ looks _different doesn’t mean he_ is _. And besides, I thought you’d be happy. I’m finally married off.”_

William smiled to himself as he looked into the small, dimly lit room from his place on the opposite side of the one sided mirror. Things were running smoothly, as planned. Their latest victim truly believed she was having a legitimate conversation with her deceased parents, and with the way things were going, it was a good possibility that she would give away the exact location of the turtle’s whereabouts.

With an evil smirk plastered on his face, William crossed his arms over his chest and continued to listen to the one sided conversation. His younger brother Greggory stood in a corner near by, watching both Gwen and William with a watchful eye.

“Willie?” He questioned softly, biting his lip a little as he glanced at the girl lying on the table. Right eye twitching in aggravation, William growled deep in his throat.

“William…how many times must I tell you!? It’s WILLIAM!”

“Sorry Willie…um…what’s gonna happen to her? Y-You aren’t gonna do to her like you did to Stewie, are you? Because…St-Stewie hasn’t woken up yet and he’s been asleep for a really long time and—“

“Don’t worry about her, Greggory. You just take care of keeping things clean and orderly. Your brother and I shall take great care of this young lady.” A new voice answered from behind them. Turning, they saw the dark shadow standing in the doorway. As it stepped closer, Greggory took a step back and looked away quickly.

“Dr. Higgins. I was beginning to wonder when you would decide to make your presence known.” William answered, his voice hinting at aggravation that his employer was not readily available when they returned with Gwen. Though the aire of Usagi Higgins was that of a man who would kill you without a second thought, William chose to ignore that and continued to push buttons and try his luck.

“I would watch your tone with me if I were you, Dr. Markus. Now then, what of this young lady? What have you discovered?” Usagi questioned, stepping up to look through the glass. Grinding his teeth together slightly, William gave a less than amused grunt before turning his attention back to Gwen.

“Her name is Guenevere Masterson, age twenty-four, and according to her drivers license lives in an apartment on the Lower West Side.”

“Markus, if I’d wanted that kind of information; I would have run a background check. Give me something useful…if you have any, that is.”

William growled and narrowed his eyes slightly. He had never much cared for Usagi, in fact, he down right despised the man. However, if he were ever to get the money he needed to open his own laboratory, he had to attempt to at least tolerate the other doctor and give him the information he wanted when he wanted it.

“As a matter of fact…I have. It would appear this turtle you saw her with has a name and is far more human than it seems.”

“What are you talking about?”

A sly and menacing smile crept across William’s face that sent chills through Greggory. He wasn’t sure what had happened to his brother, but he knew it wasn’t good. Greggory could remember a time when he adored his older brother’s knowledge and wanted to be just like him. After working for him for so long a time though, he was becoming increasingly afraid of him and would find himself desperately looking for a way out.

“It appears Ms. Masterson is with child.”

 

* * *

By the time Michelangelo had returned to the lair, he’d already lost a fair amount of blood and his vision had begun to blur. He’d barely made it inside the door before falling to his knees and gasping out for air. His leg and shoulder were ablaze with fiery pain which caused his stomach to lurch up into his throat. It didn’t take his brothers long to realize something wasn’t right, and even less time to make it to his side. With a little help from Angela, Donatello was able to move their injured brother from the stairs and into his lab which was still set up with medical supplies.

If it weren’t for the blinding pain racing through his body, Michelangelo would have been bomb barded with questions from Leonardo and Raphael about what had happened to him or who had done it to him. Donatello quickly readied his make-shift surgical utensils and ushered his older brothers from the room. The last thing he needed or wanted was to have them watching over his shoulder as he tried to extract the bullet from Mikey’s leg and have them pestering the both of them with questions. Allowing Angela to stay though in order to help keep his youngest brother from squirming too much, he set about removing the foreign object before stitching both the hole in the thigh and the two wounds in the shoulder in order for them to be wrapped.

Handing Mikey a glass of water and a couple tablets of Ibuprofen, Donnie helped him off the table and into the living room where the two older brothers stood pacing. It was in that moment that Mike wished he’d been hatched deaf. Once he was settled as comfortably as he could get on the couch, he began to explain what had happened to him and the feelings he’d been having the night before. When he finished, he looked between his brother’s and Angela.

“Am I the only one who has this nagging feeling that there’s something eerily familiar about any of this?” Donatello asked, looking at the others with a puzzled look on his face. Lifting his head, Leo turned to face the genius brother.

“How do you mean, Donnie?”

“Well, let’s put this all together. Who ever it was that got Gwen clearly knew where to find her and when to get her. They also apparently knew that eventually one of us,” Donatello paused to point at his brothers before he continued, “was going to be coming out also. So they planted whoever these assailants were there for when we did. Now, call me crazy but, I don’t think they put those guys there to make sure we got to where we needed without being spotted by the public. They were put there with one purpose.”

“Yeah, to try and turn me into a pin cushion.” Michelangelo answered, gently rubbing at his shoulder.

“You’re not far off Mike. I have the feeling they were put there to take us out permanently, or at least you.” Donatello answered as he offered a small sympathetic smile to the youngest turtle before looking back at the others. “This obviously was not done by your run-of-the-mill New York City criminal hot shots. This was planned out by someone who knew where to find us, and where to hit us where it hurt the most.”

Leonardo still stood behind the couch, his hands planted firmly on the back of it, while he struggled to think of what Donatello could be trying to get at. Sitting on a chair near by, Raph wrapped his arms protectively around Angela’s waist as he tugged her down into his lap. He was also at a loss for what his brother was getting at, but then again, that seemed to happen a lot when it came to Donnie explaining something to him. Amazingly enough, it seemed as though Michelangelo was the first to catch on this time. Eyes going wide, he sat up a little straighter and stared at his purple masked brother in confusion.

“But…Donnie? If you’re goin’ where I think you’re goin’ then…isn’t that a bit impossible since Shredder’s dead? We killed him. Remember?” He asked, his voice dipping to a lower register than it had ever been before. Raphael’s head shot up as his dangerous dark chocolate colored eyes jolted between Donatello and Michelangelo.

“I know Shredder’s dead, but we all know that members of the Foot still exists out there, and even Karai is still out running around somewhere. So it’s possible that one of the two groups could be keeping an eye on us and is waiting to get revenge for killing the Shredder.” Don answered, shrugging nonchalantly like it was nothing big for someone to be out to get them.

Gently tapping Angela’s side, Raph motioned for her to stand up before he himself stood. He wasn’t about to let some ghost of a villain long ago vanquished start coming after his family again. Eyes narrowed into thin slits as a snarl appeared on his face. It was bad enough having his younger brother getting shot once before and not being able to do anything about it, but now having his pregnant sister-in-law get kidnapped  _and_ have Mikey getting shot at, that was the final straw for him.

“So what are ya sayin’ Don? Dat none of us is safe topside? None of us should go up dere ta try an’ find Gwen or who did dis ta Mike? What?” He questioned, his voice less than pleased sounding.

“No, we’re going to find out who did this. But no one is to use that alley man-hole until we’re sure who ever was camped out there is gone.” Leo answered before turning his attention to Angela. He knew she would have to go topside again once school started and the last thing he wanted was for her to get caught up in anything that might endanger her. With as attached as Raph had become to her, Leo knew if anything ever happened to her, it would send the red masked turtle off the deep end and the results could be disastrous.

“Angie? Raph and I will escort you back to your apartment. But I want you to stay there unless you absolutely have to leave. It’s possible who ever did this doesn’t know about you being down here with us, but it’s also possible that they  _do_ know and are waiting for you also. We’ll show you a couple of different, longer routes to take in case for whatever reason you need to come back down here, but for your own good, I suggest not doing so. If you need us, you know how to reach us. You better go get your things together.” He ordered before looking back at Donatello and Michelangelo.

“You two stay here in case Gwen tries to make contact with us. We’ll be back in a little while.”

 

* * *

Angela stood on the fire escape outside her bedroom window. Her arms wrapped around Raph, she pressed her cheek against his flat, smooth plastron. The whole way back to her apartment building, Angela had been holding tight to Raph’s much larger, three fingered hand with one of her own, while she clutched a duffle bag in the other. She listened carefully to everything Leo and Raph told her as far as underground landmarks went and promised them both that she wouldn’t leave unless she had to, or if school started again. Now, as she held onto him, she forced herself not to cry.

“Be careful, Raph? Please?” She asked softly, tightening her hold on him slightly. Feeling a light chuckle etch its way through his chest, Angela looked up into his eyes. Ever since she’d known him, his eyes always held a certain amount of hesitance to them, this time however, she saw a softness in them that she’d never seen before.

“’Ey…bein’ reckless is what I’m good at.” He answered jokingly. Pulling back and her features hardening a little, Angela smacked his shoulder and frowned.

“I’ll be careful…relax.” Raph laughed softly, pulling her back to him so he could kiss the top of her head.

“You better if you plan on getting any ever again. Cuz I’m telling you right now, if you get yourself killed…you are  _so_ through.” Laughing, Raphael leaned his head down slightly to kiss her. He still wasn’t sure what it was about her that made him love her so much, but he did know that he’d be a goner if he ever lost her. Pulling back, he gently pushed her hair out of her face and ran his hand down her cheek as he looked her in the eyes.

“I love you, Raph.” Angela whispered, staring into his chocolate colored eyes. She wasn’t sure what to expect as she muttered the three words she’d been longing to say for well over a month. In the year they had been together, neither of them had ever mentioned the dreaded “L word”—though it was obvious in the way they acted towards each other that they both felt it.

Raphael blinked a few times as her words sank into his mind. No one had ever told him they loved him. Sure Splinter had told them that he loved them all when they were younger, but that was different. That was a fatherly kind of love. This was a whole new level of love that he’d never felt before in his life. Finally shaking himself out of thought, he leaned down to kiss her once more before stepping back a little in order to start his decent back to the sewers.

“Be careful, Angie.” He answered, turning to go following Leo back down the fire escape. As he neared the ladder and knew his eldest brother was out of ear shot, he glanced over his shoulder to take one last glance at Angela. He could see the hurt and confusion in her eyes and it nearly ripped his heart out. Sighing, he offered a smug smirk.

“Hey Ang? I uh…I love ya, too.” Without sticking around to see her response, Raph jumped down from the fire escape and landed silently on the street next to Leo. Looking at his brother in confusion, Raph shrugged and shoved his way past him.

“What’s wit’chu?” He asked, trying to ignore the small knowing grin on Leo’s face. Shrugging, Leonardo turned to follow Raphael out of the alley and onto the empty street.

“Nothing.” He answered, chuckling as he shook his head and moved out behind his red banded brother. It was good to know that Raph did have a heart after all, even if he did keep it locked under chain and key. The two continued their some what playful brotherly banter until they rounded the corner leading to the alley and Raph nearly stepped on one of the darts meant for their brother. Knitting his eye ridges together, he slowly knelt down and lifted one up to examine it.

“What the shell?”


	7. So it Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mentions of torture and experimentation on Gwen.

Donatello sighed as he twirled the dart his brothers brought him between his fingers. If anyone else had seen it, they’d have disregarded it as just another broken twig; to Donnie though, that “twig” was a deadly weapon. Just what had stopped his brother from stepping on it, he didn’t know, but what he did know was that seemingly harmless “stick” was laced with a lethal amount of poison. Even the smallest of pricks could have done away with any of them. He was certainly glad none had hit Mikey.

“There weren’t anymore lying around, were there?” He questioned, looking up at his two oldest brothers. The possibility of there being more of those darts lying around up there brought a whole new wave of horror through him. If one of those darts got into the wrong hands—or worse yet a child’s—or even if someone accidentally stumbled and pricked themselves, innocent lives could quickly be ended.

“Only one I found.” Raph answered, his arms crossed and his face stone serious. Stepping up next to him, Michelangelo glared at the dart as if trying to get it to expload.

“That’s what they were shooting at me before they switched to guns.” He said, voice low and cold with hate. Setting it down, Don turned his attention back to his computer.

“That’s just weird, even for the Shredder. I mean, if he were going to have the Foot ambush us, they’d have ninja weapons. This looks more like a blow dart used by jungle tribes in the amazons or something.” Quickly bringing up a few pictures, Donatello began his investigation into whom or what could have made such an innocent-but deadly- weapon. He couldn’t help his mind from wandering into the thought of what could have happened to Gwen. If she’d been hit with a dart like that one, well, he didn’t need to think any further on what would have happened to her.

“We did find this though. It has some numbers on it. We weren’t sure if you could trace it back to whoever made it or not.” Leo said pulling the small silver cylinder from his belt. It was no longer filled with the strange liquid from before, but one could clearly see where it had once been. Eyes widening, Don reached out to take it from his brother gently. He’d only ever seen anything similar to it once, and he remembered what it had done.

“It looks like a tranquilizer dart. Was it lying near this dart?” He asked, sliding his chair over to his magnifying glass to examine it closer.

"No, not really. We found that lying in the gutter. Can you find out what was in it?” Leonardo questioned, arms crossed as he stood in careful attention of his second youngest brother. He never doubted that Donatello could figure even the strangest problems out, but yet, he still couldn’t help but ask that question whenever it rose up in his mind. He saw the corner of Donatello’s mouth tweak up into a small smirk as he got up to move to another table.

“Did Einstein develop the Theory of Relativity?” Picking a Q-Tip up from a small drawer, Donatello scrapped the inside of the cylinder clean before smearing a sample onto his microscope. Frowning as he looked down at it, he sighed and moved to his computer.

“I can do it; it’s just going to take me a little while. It appears to be more than one compound. Whatever it is though, I don’t think it was meant as a pick me up.” He answered before punching in the serial number engraved on the side of the smaller dart.

“I can however, try to get a lock on where this came from right now. I’ve managed to upgrade my computer hardware enough that it can now do a tack of any serial number I give it, tracing it all the way back to the day, time, and place it was manufactured. So in just a matter of seconds most times, I can get…got it!”

The four brothers crowded around the bright, glowing computer screen as Donatello scrolled through a page filled with serial numbers and dates. It was almost amazing the way Donatello’s mind worked and the things he could come up with to better serve their lives. He always joked that if the outside world accepted them more, he would probably be rich with all the computer upgrades and video game systems he could create. His brothers would usually chuckle at that, though they all knew that it was true.

“Higgins Pharmaceuticals Incorporated…Midtown, New York…August first, two-thousand and seven.” Donatello read, matching the two numbers.

“Midtown? How’d somet’ing dat was made in Midtown make it all da way up ‘ere?” Raphael questioned, squinting at the screen for a better look. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to that question, particularly after hearing the word “pharmaceutical”.

“It’s not that far of a jump, Raph. Well, at least now we can fully rule out that the Shredder is involved in any of this. This is way too advanced even for him. It still doesn’t answer who was shooting at you, though, Mikey. I mean, it could have been anyone really.” Donatello turned to look at his brothers. None of them seemed too happy to hear that deduction, least of all Michelangelo. He knew he had to do something to help, he just wished he could think of something. As much as he hated to admit it, Donatello knew that finding whoever took Gwen was going to be about as easy as finding a needle in a hay stack.

“We gotta do something though, Don. Gwen’s out there somewhere! She could be in a lot of trouble!” Mikey exclaimed, pacing back and forth through his brother’s laboratory. He could feel the burning in his leg return and he knew he should sit down to keep his stitches from tearing, but he couldn’t help it. Sighing and glancing at his brothers, Don frowned when he saw the small red spot appear on Mike’s bandage.

“I know Gwen’s out there, Mikey. But you better sit down before those sutures rip and I have to re-stitch them.” Spinning around, the brothers all swore they saw a red spark flare up in Michelangelo’s eyes.

“Damn it Don! I don’t care! My wife and  _kid_ are out there! Put yourself in my shell! What would you be doing right now? Would you still be sitting there clicking away on your computer? I doubt it. Now are we going to do anything or not? Cuz I have a real good hunch that whoever was shooting at me was hired by Higgins Pharmaceuticals.” He growled back, his hands clenched in fists of rage as he glared at his stunned purple banded brother before looking at the other two.

For the longest moment of their still semi-young lives, no one spoke. The air was so thick with tension not even one of Leo’s katanas could slice through. True, the four had experienced life threatening encounters before, but that was before they’d “retired” from protecting the city and long before they’d even dreamed of meeting people who were willing to love them for who they were. This was different, and some how, far more personal than just their own lives being at stake.

Donatello had to agree though, had he been in Mike’s place, he would probably be fuming too. He’d be doing everything he could possibly think of, rationally or not, in order to find them and get them back safe and sound. He could remember how upset he had been when their Sensei had gone missing all those years before, and how scared he’d been when Leo had been nearly pulverized by the Shredder when they were still teens. But still, he knew that even then, his fears and anger could not compare to what his brother must have been feeling right then.

Finally, the silence became too much for any of them to stand. It had been a well known fact ever since they were young that when the four of them were together, things hardly ever stayed quiet for very long. This perhaps, so they decided anyways, was why Splinter had chosen to give them each their own separate rooms. Had he not, whenever they were sent to their rooms as punishment, they used the time more as a recess rather than a time to meditate and think about what they did wrong. Stepping up next to Michelangelo, Raph reached out and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He knew it wasn’t much, but it was at least a step in the right direction.

“Don’t worry Mike…we’re gonna find Gwen an’ yer baby. No mattah what it takes.” He said, trying to bring some sort of comfort to his brother. Snapping into action, Don turned his attention back to his computer once more.

“I’ll get started on analyzing the different compounds in this serum, find out what it was and what it’s capable of doing. Once I’ve got that taken care, I’ll call April and Casey and have them help me set up surveillance cameras in and around Higgins Pharmaceuticals Corporate building. If Mike’s right and those thugs were hired by someone working on the inside, they’re bound to give themselves away somehow.”

“And I’ll make sure to expand my patrol route in order to keep a careful eye on the place, in case anything suspicious happens I can be there to take care of it right away.” Leo added, his arms hanging back down at his sides as he started for the door. Mike turned and felt as if a bit of the weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“I’m coming with you, Leo. I’m not going to sit around waiting for my shell cell to start ringing. Besides, I want a piece of whoever took Gwen.”

 

* * *

Gwen felt the cold steel against her skin before she opened her eyes. Her entire body ached from head to toe. It felt stiff, as if she had been lying in one position for far too long and her head was such a haze she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been drinking the night before and was then suffering from the worst hangover of her life. When she went to place a hand to her head, however, and found that her arms were unable to move, her eyes shot open into the blinding light above her.

The room was white and bare, and visions of all the movies she’d ever seen with rooms similar to that one began flashing through her mind. All of them cold, white, and bare—none of them good. She knew her nightmare had been real, and she had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach that it had only just begun. Pressing her lips together, she pulled and tugged with all her might to release her arms and legs from the straps holding her to the bed and as she attempted to sit up, her neck was quickly popped as it moved while her head stayed in one place. She’d been completely strapped down onto the bed, unable to move or look around.

Fear washed over her as she heard a heavy metal door whoosh open and two shadows fell over her.  She wanted so badly to kick and thrash about, to break free from her holds and make a mad dash for the door. Even though she had no clue where she was, she was sure if she could make it to the nearest manhole that she could find her way back to the lair. That was, of course, if she was even still in the city, or more importantly the state. Gulping hard, she clamped her eyes shut and pretended to be asleep again.

“Ah, good evening Ms. Masterson. I trust you slept well?” A male voice questioned stepping up next to her. Gwen’s mind raced as she tried to figure out a way to get hold of Michelangelo for help. Something about the man’s voice made her flesh crawl and she did not like it. Eyes still closed, she wished with all her might that she’d make them disappear and be back safe and sound in bed curled up in Mike’s arms the next time she opened her eyes.

“It’s foolish to pretend, Ms. Masterson. We have you hooked to machines which monitor your sleep cycle. We know the moment you fall asleep, when you fall into deep sleep, and the instant you begin waking up. Now open your eyes and look at the doctor when he’s talking to you.” A new voice ordered from her other side. Unlike the first voice which held a certain air of sophistication to it, this new voice was rough as if most of their life they’d been ridiculed and rejected for one reason or another. Almost tempted to keep her eyes closed, she had the feeling if she did, they’d make her regret it. Slowly opening her eyes again, she looked up into two very different faces.

“There’s a smart girl. You must forgive our precautions in strapping you down. Can’t have our prize running off now can we? Ah, but where are my manners? My name is Usagi Higgins. This is my associate William Markus. And you must be Guenevere Masterson. It certainly is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Usagi said, giving her a forced and obviously fake polite smile as he looked down at her. Now that she had a face and name to go with the flesh crawling voice, it only made her feel even worse. There was definitely something not right about him. Something in his eyes told her he was up to no good.

"Usagi Higgins? That’s a bit of a contradiction isn’t it? It’s like saying ‘wasabi  kemosabi.’ Both words are from two totally and completely different cultures.” Gwen finally said, hoping her wit and logic wouldn’t give out on her anytime soon. And if that failed, she had plenty of sarcasm from Raph to use as backup. Usagi gave a bone chilling smile as he stood a little straighter and placed his hands behind his back.

“So it is. You’re very perceptive, that’s good. You’ll need to keep your wits about you.” He answered, a dark gleam coming to his eyes. Gwen could feel her heart begin to pick up speed.

“Hey look, Buster Brown…I want out of here, and I want out of here right now. You have no idea who you’re dealing with. I’ve got friends who could kick your ass before you could say ‘Top o’ da mornin’ or Konichewa…whatever you say.” Gwen threatened. A very small part of her hoped that threat would get him to release her, even though she could tell by his demeanor that it was no use to even try. William gave a defiant laugh as he shook his head, still staring down at her.

“You don’t possibly think that those freaks of nature you call friends could harm us do you? They don’t even know where you are. It could take them  _months_ before they even get the slightest clue as to where we’ve brought you. Besides, they should all be dead right about now anyways. Usagi’s men were trained in every form of combat imaginable. From hand-to-hand down to jungle warfare. They’re far more—“

“Markus! Silence yourself. Mustn’t scare our guest. Now then Ms. Masterson, we are well aware of who you are and what we are dealing with. Hence is to why we chose you. Now then, be a good girl and lie still. The less you squirm, the less this is going to hurt. For now.” Usagi raised a small needle and allowed its tip to glimmer in the light before bringing it down and into Gwen’s skin. Whimpering, Gwen closed her eyes and tried to do as Splinter taught her to block out pain.

“Should I bring in the others now, Doctor Higgins?” William asked, moving for the door.

“Yes, Markus. Let’s see just how well our young friend can withstand pain, shall we?”

_Oh Mikey…help…please?_

Greggory stood in the observation room silently watching. He’d been on his rounds of cleaning when he heard the stifled screams coming from Gwen’s room. Last time he had checked in on her, she was still sleeping peacefully. Slipping into the observation room once finding her door locked, he stood in horror as his brother and their employer poked and prodded her with different things. Droplets of blood dabbled down her bare skin and he could see where the straps were already starting to chafe at her wrists and ankles. He could feel his stomach twisting and turning as his own brother proceeded to take a long needle and very slowly press it through the soft flesh of her thigh. He had no clue how long they’d been torturing her like that and frankly he didn’t think he wanted to know.

Standing there for a few moments more, he watched as the two men set the various items down on a tray and turned to leave. Making sure they were gone, Greggory rushed down the hall to the medical supply room before quickly making his way back to Gwen’s solitary cell. Usagi and William had left her to bleed unconscious and naked on the table and that made Greggory’s heart go out to her. Stepping up next to her side, he bit his lip as he slowly began cleaning and wrapping her wounds just to keep them from bleeding anymore.

“Poor lady. Why are my brother and Doctor Higgins doing this to you? You don’t have to be scared with me around, I won’t hurt you. My name’s Greggory and I’ll be your friend.” He said softly, always one to believe that even if someone was unconscious they could still hear and understand. Picking up the blanket he brought with, he very gently laid it over her before shoving the cart of surgical tools out of the room and into a closet in a feeble attempt to keep them away from his brother.


	8. An In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mentions of torture and experimentation on Gwen.

It’d been three days and still the turtles were no closer to finding Gwen then they had been the day she went missing. With each passing moment, their anger and determination grew. Donatello had managed to break through the security code on Higgins Pharmaceuticals Corporate building and linked his computer into theirs to keep a steady stream of video fed into his hard drive. On top of that, he also—with the help of April and Casey Jones—set up small spy cams in a variety of angels around the building with at least four different views of the main door alone. If anyone was going to give themselves away, Donatello would be the first to know about it.

Raphael and Leonardo also managed to put their differences aside for the time and paired up to patrol the area. They each took turns standing watch while the other searched the grounds around the massive Midtown building for any signs of trap doors or false walls that might hint at suspicious behavior. Though they weren’t able to find anything, they still felt as if something were not right. Something had to be out of place there, and they were determined to find and expose it.

Michelangelo on the other hand was quickly becoming a nervous wreck. In three days he hadn’t eaten or slept; he just prowled the city searching for any sort of clues that might be helpful to them. Master Splinter tried to make him eat something and to take even just a few minutes to rest and regain himself but was quickly surprised at his youngest son’s reaction. Instead of doing as he was told—as he normally would under any other circumstances…most times—he shoved himself away from the table and stormed off to the dojo where he proceeded to annihilate a practice dummy. At night, he perched himself high in the shadows of an awning where he would watch the door to Higgins Inc like a hawk and made a solemn oath to himself that when he found who took Gwen, he was going to take their life. Point blank.

Sitting alone in his lab once more, Donatello gave a heavy sigh as he leaned back in his chair. He’d been watching his monitor screens all day without seeing anything. It was beginning to frustrate him and he needed just a small break from it all to clear his head and get him focused again. He gave a small smile as he readjusted his microphone head strap so he could better hear the soft feminine voice on the other line. He was glad to hear her voice when she picked up; she always seemed to calm his nerves and give him the boost he needed to get through the night. It was not uncommon for them to stay up until the first break of light laughing and talking.

“So cutie, when are you going to come back to Rocky Street and watch me play again? I’ve got a show tomorrow night at 9 o’clock. I think I could probably sneak you in the back.” The detached woman’s voice said. Sighing, Don sat forward and ran his hand down his face.

“I dunno Jules. I don’t think I can make it tomorrow night.” He answered sadly, turning his attention back to his computer screens once more. Silence filled the gap between them for a moment before the woman answered him again.

“Donnie? What’s the matter? Something’s wrong. Are you ok?” Donatello gave a small chuckle as he leaned back again. Rolling his head back onto the headrest, he stared up at the ceiling.

“I’m fine Julie. I’m just tired.”

“Gimme a break, Don. I’m blind, not deaf. There’s something wrong, now spill it before I come down there and smack it out of you.”

Laughing, Don shook his head as he pictured his sweet petite Julie blindly stumbling her way through the sewers in search of him. She had already tried to do that once and was extremely lucky that Don had been out searching for spare parts and was able to catch her before she walked off a sewer-fall.

“Alright, you got me. Stay there, I don’t want to have you falling off of anything or getting hit by a subway train.” He paused to sigh before standing up.  “Remember me telling you about my brother Mikey and his wife Gwen? Well…a few days ago Gwen was leaving for work and got kidnapped. We’ve been trying to find her but, we haven’t been having much luck. Just a bunch of dead ends. It’s really been taking its toll on Mike. I mean, he won’t eat, he won’t sleep, and this afternoon he tore through a practice dummy like it was made of paper. I’m really worried about him, Jules. I’m really worried about Gwen too. Did I tell you that she and Mike were going to have a baby? If we don’t find them soon then…well…I don’t want to even think about what it could do to Mikey.” Don sighed heavily as he stopped to stare at a picture on his workshop wall. All four of the brothers, along with Casey, April, and Splinter, were given a picture of Michelangelo and Gwen on their wedding day as a way to commemorate the first of their family to get married.

“Oh my God. Don, why didn’t you tell me sooner? What can I do to help?” Julie questioned all the laughter and fun gone from her voice. She’d made a promise to herself the night Don and Raph saved her life out side of the Rocky Street Grill that if ever they were in trouble, she would be there to help. She could hear his struggle on the other end of the phone and knew he didn’t want to put her in any sort of danger.

“Please, Donatello. I want to help you guys. I  _can_ help you guys.”

“Fine. The biggest lead we’ve got so far is Higgins Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. We’ve got surveillance cameras set up around the building and I’ve hacked into their security system. Other than that, we don’t have much. What we need is someone working on the inside. Someone who can snoop around and get us any information they can that could lead us to the bastards who took Gwen.”

“Higgins? That’s just like, three blocks down from Rocky Street Grill, isn’t it? I remember my Aunt taking me past it shortly after I moved here. I could go apply there. Try to get a job as…I dunno…maintenance or something.”

Don sat back down at his computers and quickly brought up the website for the pharmaceutical company. Not that he had any doubts in his mind that Julie would be able to help them out; he just didn’t think she’d stand a chance being hired there due to her blindness. Taking a deep breath, he began looking through the different departments listed before sighing heavily.

“Ju-Ju Bean…I’m not seeing anything on this site that they might possibly hire you for. I appreciate the offer but, I don’t think it would work.” Don heard the soft chuckle on the other end and knew that he’d just made a grave mistake.

“Oh Donnie…I love it when there’s doubt in your voice. Makes me all the more determined to go through with it. I’ll head over there first thing in the morning and fill out an application. I’ll get in there for you, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Yeah well, it better not be the last thing you do. You still owe me a home made pizza.”

 

* * *

The following morning Julie Alexander stepped off the Midtown bus and patted Doogie, her faithful German Shepard and seeing-eye dog’s, head. He sat and waited patiently as people crossed the sidewalk in front of them before standing and cautiously leading his master towards the building. Once inside, the sounds of business men and women along with a few scattered scientists filled Julie’s ears. She had to admit, if she weren’t blind, she’d probably be swept away by its massive lobby and extremely contemporary fixtures.  

Slowly and carefully, Julie counted the number of steps it took her to reach the lobby before stopping. She was never known to back down from a challenge, especially when people doubted that she was capable of doing it. Standing there to gain composure, she was approached by a middle aged woman in a business suit. The woman gave her the once over and sneered. Julie was dressed in a very nice, yet pleasantly simple, slacks and jacket with a pale lavender button up shirt under the jacket. Her medium length red hair was twirled up into a meticulously styled bun atop her head and a pair of small framed sunglasses covered her eyes. Even Doogie looked pampered and ready for an interview with his freshly washed and brushed fur gleaming in the artificial light of the lobby.

“May I…help you with something?” The woman questioned, stepping up in front of Julie and Doogie. Following the sound of the voice, Julie smiled politely and extended her hand.

“Hello. My name is Julie Alexander. I was hoping someone could give my friend Doogie and I a shove in the right direction to fill out a job application.” Julie answered politely, an eager smile plastered on her twenty-year old face.

“I’m sorry, we’re not hiring at the moment.”

“Oh well that’s fine! I’ll just fill out an app and leave it with you guys in case an opening happens to pop up along the line, you can give me a call. Never hurts to have someone on call, just in case.”

Giving Julie the once over again, the woman narrowed her eyes and very discretely waved her hand in front of Julie’s face to test if she were truly blind or just pretending. When she was certain Julie was for real, she gave a heavy sigh and shook her head.

“This way.” She muttered, turning and starting off towards a desk at the back of the lobby. Smirking, Julie tugged on Doogie’s leash and allowed her eyes to lead her off after the woman. Stepping up to the desk, she heard papers rumpling and soft muttering as the woman who had yet to identify herself picked up a phone.

“Yes hello, Doctor Higgins? You have a young lady down here inquiring about a possible job position. Yes sir, I informed her of that but she would still like to fill out an application. It would appear so, sir. Just a moment, I’ll find out…” Pulling the phone from her ear and placing a hand over it, the woman Julie had silently dubbed Fräulein McSnooty, glared over at her.

“Ms. Alexander, are you capable of working without that…dog?”  Fräulein McSnooty asked. Raising an eyebrow and tilting her head towards Doogie, Julie nodded.

“Without Doogie? Yeah, I have a seeing wand that I use when Doogs isn’t allowed someplace.”

Fräulein McSnooty nodded and brought the phone back to her ear. “Yes, Doctor Higgins, that’s possible. I see, sir. Yes of course, sir. As you wish, Doctor. Goodbye.”

Smiling, Jules listened as the phone was placed back on its receiver and the Fräulein sighed heavily. Knowing she’d just gotten herself a job, she did everything within her power not to wiggle in place with happiness. Don was going to be so surprised when she told him the news. One thing did strike her as odd. How she was able to get a job without filling out an application or even go through with an interview.

“Be here tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. You’ll be working in the test lab as an assistant. Someone will be waiting to lead you down.”

“Thank you very much. You won’t regret this. Have a nice day, ma’am.” Turning, Julie gave a quick tug before marching out with Doogie.  _And Donnie said it couldn’t be done. Ha!_ She thought to herself as she emerged out of the building and back onto the busy Midtown streets. Stepping off to the side where she’d be out of the way, Julie dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Dialing in Don’s direct line, she smiled to herself.

“Oh Do-o-o-o-n-n-n-n-ie-e-e-e-e…I’m in.”

 

* * *

After hanging up with his secretary, Ms. Hasbeck, Usagi gave an evil smirk before stepping back into the bright white holding cell where Gwen was still strapped to a table. In the course of just a matter of days, Doctor Higgins and William Markus had managed to run a variety of tests on their prize ‘lab rat.’ He had to admit, she was holding up far better than even he had imagined. Part of Usagi began to believe she was somehow mutated in her own way from being in romantic contact with the turtle known as Michelangelo, while another part of him believed she had learned to conceal her pain through meditation techniques.

Earlier that morning, Usagi and William entered her cell only to find her in what appeared to be a peaceful sleep.

_Gwen stood in the lair, looking around in confusion and fear. She’d never been able to project herself before, but then again, this was a matter of life or death. She had to find someone who could see and hear her. She had to find help. Closing her eyes, she slowly opened them to find herself in her and Mike’s bedroom._

_“Empty. Damn.” She said to herself before projecting herself back into the entertainment room. When she found that empty as well, she went to the one room she knew someone would be occupying._

_“Master Splinter? Please hear me. I’m in danger! Help me! Please. Oh, please be able to hear me…”_

_She watched as Splinter leaned his head back slightly, his furry rat ears twitching quickly. Nose twitching in time with his ears, the wise old rat slowly opened his eyes and looked right at her. A chill ran through Gwen at that, and she gulped hard._

_“Master Splinter? Can you hear me? C-Can you see me? I need your help. I’m in danger. I got taken by two men. I don’t know where I am but…but I’m scared, Master Splinter. I’m being used as a test dummy for all kinds of different drugs. I don’t want them hurting MJ…please help me, Master Splinter. Please?! I…I think they’re in the room with me now and…and I don’t trust what they might do to me. I heard one of them say something about a truth serum. If they give me that…it…it could be the end of everyone…” Gwen trailed off as her vision began to cave in and become unfocused. Panic started washing over her as outside voices mingled inside her mind._

_“Go, my daughter. They will learn nothing from you…” Splinter finally said as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back, sending himself into a deep meditation. Opening her mouth to cry out, Gwen’s eyes sprang open as a needle was injected into her arm. Looking up into the cold eyes of her captures, she heard the one called Markus laugh._

_“In a few moments doctor, this serum will be running through her system and she’ll be more than willing to tell us everything she knows about those accursed reptiles.”_

That was nearly three hours prior and still they had learned nothing new from her. By then, the strongest truth serum they had was worn off and it would prove fatal to give her another dose. Stepping up next to William, he sighed heavily and looked down at the wide array of surgical tools they’d brought with them.

“What is this new drug you’ve wanted to show me, Markus?” Usagi questioned, folding his arms over his broad chest. Giving a smirk, William raised a new syringe up which held a strange green liquid. Tapping the air bubbles from it, William tightened the straps on Gwen before giving her a menacing smile.

“You know, my mother always told me the worst part of pregnancy was that it took nine months away from her life.” Turning to face Usagi again, he continued.

“That is why my team and I have developed this new drug which will dramatically decrease the pregnancy by nearly fifty percent. Producing a perfectly healthy child. I call this Lyminia Quapregta. Or as it will someday be known around the world simply as, Quapregta. This will soon be found in every hospital around the world.” Markus stated, wiping off a small area on Gwen’s stomach with a cotton swab of disinfectant. Gwen squirmed and wiggled against her restraints. Her wrists burned painfully as the leather continued its brutal assault on her skin.  

“Please don’t do this. Please? Do what you want to me just…please don’t hurt the baby.” Gwen pleaded, hoping maybe, just maybe, they’d take pity on her and spare her this one test.

Raising an eyebrow, Usagi stepped into her line of view. His cold dark eyes were black and hard as he scowled down at her. She knew he wanted answers from her, but she wouldn’t give him that kind of satisfaction.

“Will you tell us the whereabouts of your reptile friends? Of anyone else who might be of any use to us?” He questioned coolly. Narrowing her eyes, Gwen wished she’d been given something to drink recently so that she had saliva enough to spit in his face.

“Not on your life, slime ball.”

Usagi clicked his tongue as he shook his head before turning to face Markus once more. William was still readying the spot he planed to do the injection and looked up at his employer.

“Tell me, Markus…what has been the survival rate of the mother’s this drug has been tested on?”

Gwen felt her stomach lurch when she saw the menacing glint in Markus’s eyes. Placing the tip of the needle against her skin, he smiled.

“Most test subjects have lived as long as two weeks after giving birth. Other’s only hours. Either way, none have yet to watch the baby grow up.” Giving a quick jerk of his hand, William pierced the skin and shoved the plunger down, sending a stream of green liquid down into Gwen’s blood. Crying out in pain, Gwen jerked herself around in a feeble attempt to dislodge the syringe before anymore of the serum could mingle with her blood. She heard the laughter all around her as the room started spinning once more.

“You have approximately eight weeks left to live. Any, final requests?” William asked, though his voice gave no indication that he was serious.

“Yeah…I hope you both burn…”

Both men continued to laugh as Gwen slipped back into the darkness around her. She couldn’t remember the last time she was given something decent to eat other than a few scraps of bread once or twice a day, and she hadn’t had an entire glass of water in probably a day and a half. 

As the door closed, Usagi turned to face William.

“How long before the child is developed enough to be retrieved?”

“Taking into consideration she appears to be already four and a half months pregnant, I would say in roughly six weeks or less. That’s if she is to carry full term.” William answered his hands in his lab coat as the pair walked down the cold dark hallway. Usagi nodded silently in thought.

“Good, very good. And the electro-shocker to keep her from astral projecting again?”

“Installed and in perfect working order. The moment it picks up on any change, it will send a zap through her body instantly bringing her back. She won’t be able to inform any one of anything again.”

“Excellent, Markus…excellent.”


	9. Mikey Sees a Ghost

“You mean we still have _nothing_? It’s been almost five weeks and still _nothing?!_ ”

Donatello sighed and his shoulder slumped. He’d been doing everything he could to catch anything suspicious going on inside and outside of the Higgins Building but had caught absolutely nothing. Truthfully, he had caught on to a couple of things that were a slight bit suspicious, but it didn’t give them enough ground to barge in and demand Gwen be handed back over to them.

“Look Mike, I’ve been doing my best, alright? I don’t see you coming home with conclusive evidence that Gwen’s been taken by anyone working there or that she’s been taken to the Higgins Building to begin with! So get off my shell, will ya?”

The tension that had filled their lair over the passing weeks had begun to take its toll on all of them. Even mild-mannered Don had begun snapping back. They all knew that with each day that passed and they didn’t find anything, their chances of finding Gwen alive were growing slimmer and slimmer—though none of them wanted to admit it. Angela came down every once in a while to have Don print off more “Missing Person” flyers, but even those seemed to be futile.

They all silently hoped to find Gwen alive, and soon, especially since they all knew if she were to be discovered dead, and an autopsy performed—it’d be a little strange to see she were pregnant with a child that wasn’t exactly entirely human. If they weren’t discovered because of that, it was safe to assume that scientists from all over would be searching for the strange “turtle-man” that impregnated the ‘poor woman.’

“You had to have found  _something_ , though Don! I mean, you can’t sit there and honestly tell me that in the past  _five weeks_ you haven’t caught anything!”

“Fine, you wanna know what I’ve found? I’ll tell you. That dart that Leo and Raph found? Hasn’t been put on the market and  _won’t_ be put on the market because it’s too dangerous. Second of all, Higgins Pharmaceuticals supposedly doesn’t test on animals and does all of its testing in foreign countries.  _That’s_ what I’ve found so far, Mike. Now will you just calm your tail down and get off my shell about everything?” Don snipped, spinning around in his chair to glare at his younger brother. The two glared at each other through narrowed slits before Michelangelo looked away, heaving a heavy sigh as he did so.

“Fine…” He grumbled, heading for the door. Shoving past his two oldest brothers, Mike made his way up the stairs and out into the sewer tunnels. Not surprised by the youngest turtle’s attitude anymore, Raphael and Leonardo merely stepped out of his way and didn’t question him. Moving into the lab, they looked at the genius as Splinter stepped up next to them.

“My sons, a time of darkness has fallen on our home. I fear we have little time left if we are to safely recover Guenevere and the child.” The wise old rodent spoke softly as he stared down at his paws that clutched the head of his walking stick. Glancing at their master and adopted father, the brothers all felt heaviness settle in the pits of their stomachs.

“What do you mean, Sensei?” Leo questioned, stepping closer to him. His brown eyes lifting, he looked at each of them separately before sighing and moving towards the picture framed on Donatello’s wall.

“For many nights I have tried to reach out to Gwen through meditation. At a time, she came to me in a dream asking for my help and protection. I was able to channel my energy to her and kept her from revealing secrets about us. But now…something is keeping her shielded. I am only able to pick up her energy and feelings. She is growing weak, frightened. She hasn’t any knowledge as to where she is or why she has been taken. I fear…it is only a matter of nights before I will no longer be able to find her energy at all.” Pulling his paw away from the photo of his young adopted son and daughter-in-law, he looked back at his three remaining charges with sadness in his eyes. Giving them each the once over another time, he slowly made his way back to his room where he could further his meditation and astral search for Gwen, and continue to keep watch of the candle he had burning for her.

It was in his own belief that he keep a candle burning for each person who entered their lives. The burning candle symbolized their life and health; so long as the candle burned so continued their lives. The brighter and higher their flame the happier and healthier their life was. However, if the candle began to flicker and dwindle out it meant the life of who the candle was for had met a sickly end. If it were to simply snuff out…so had their life. One candle had been lit for each turtle, as well as for April, Casey, Gwen and Angela. At the time, all flames were faint and small but none were as dwindling as Gwen’s.

The brothers each looked at the other before turning their attention back to the floor. It hurt them deeply to hear their master speak like he had, though they each knew he was right. It was possibly for the best that he had told them after Michelangelo had left; if he’d heard that there was no telling what he would have done. Suddenly unsure of why they had come to visit their gadget geek brother, both Leo and Raph turned to go their own separate ways.

 

* * *

Michelangelo knew he shouldn’t have gone off on Donatello as he had, but he’d become so frustrated in their lack of findings that he didn’t know who else to vent to. Something inside of him knew they didn’t have much time left, and the thought of every little second slipping away with out any conclusive clues pointing in the right direction made him more and more depressed.

He really didn’t know if he could take it if they never found her—or worse, found her dead. Ashamed to tell his brothers, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he stood atop a building and thought on all the times in just a few short days he’d actually thought of ending his life because of it all. He’d thought he’d go in the ‘typical’ New Yorker fashion and take a nose dive off the Brooklyn Bridge, but he then remembered he was a turtle and the chances of drowning were slim. Then of course there was the other ‘traditional’ way of Peter Pan-ing off a building—but that would get his brothers too noticed. Plus, he knew that he would dishonor himself—not to mention give away the fact of their existence—if he were to commit suicide but if he couldn’t live with Gwen, then what was the point in living at all? Of course, there was always the possibility that once he did away with himself, they’d find Gwen and she’d be ok.

Sighing heavily, he sat down on the ledge and opened his eyes. Looking out at all the lights of the city, he couldn’t help but feel his heartstrings pull. He thought back on the time he spent in Illinois where he’d first met Gwen. Her house had been surrounded by outrageously tall Maple, Elm, and Oak trees; fresh air; and more importantly at night—stars. Millions upon thousands of stars for as far as the eye could see. He could remember a few nights they’d laid out in her back yard watching for a rare shooting star and she’d point out different constellations to him. It was under that blanket of stars that Michelangelo knew he’d fallen in love—really in love—for the first time. Looking skyward, he sighed when all he saw was the soft glow reflecting off the atmosphere.

He lost track of how many nights he’d spent sitting on that rooftop watching the streets below, hoping and praying to find something that might be useful to them. He wished things were as ‘easy’ as they had been when they were teenagers. When they were teens they knew who their enemy was, what he wanted, where to hit him and how to make it count. Since the destruction of Shredder though, the lines dividing right from wrong and good from evil had become a blur of grey. He knew then that the song he’d heard drift from Don’s room made sense. “ _When the world and I were young, just yesterday / Life was such an simple game a child could play / It was easy then to tell right from wrong / Easy then to tell weak from strong / When a man should stand and fight / Or just go along / But today there is no day or night / Today there is no dark or light / Today there is no black or white / Only shades of grey…”_ At the time he’d first heard it, he didn’t understand what it was talking about, but now that he was a few years older, it somehow made a little more sense.

It had just turned two in the morning and still the city was buzzing with activity. The brave men and woman of the NYPD were combing the streets looking for the dealers and street-walkers looking for a good time who were just starting their ‘day’. There were second shifters going home and third shifters heading to work. True all the ‘business people’ were home safe and sound in their beds, leaving financial and marketing buildings dark and empty, but that by no means meant the sidewalks rolled up. Clubs and singles bars were in full swing below him and Mikey couldn’t help but wonder if Raph were down there trying to mingle and fit in among them.

Standing, Michelangelo made his way to the front of the Higgins Building and stood glaring down at the door with his arms folded. He knew no one was left in the building, but for some reason—maybe the same reason he believed Gwen was hidden somewhere deep in the bowels of it—he felt the need to stick around for a little while longer. He couldn’t explain it, it was just a hunch something that something was going to happen. Just as he was about to leave though, a shadow exiting the door and heading down a back alley caught his eye.

“I dunno but I have the feelin’ you are  _not_ part of the cleaning crew.” Mikey said to himself as he snuck into the shadows to follow the stranger. It didn’t take him long to catch up, or to see where they turned into. Stopping on a fire escape in a darkened alley, Michelangelo squinted to see the shrouded figure as they stepped up to a door illuminated by the yellow glow of a light above them. It was as they began looking around and their face hit the light that Mikey felt his heart stop and his eyes go wide.

“No…freakin’…way.”

 

* * *

“I wish I could tell you more, Donnie but…I really don’t have anything else. This place is…well…it’s insane with security. Really babe, the only thing I can tell you is…it’s bull-she-ot that they don’t test on animals and it’s all done in foreign countries. I’m working with a guy named Greg who’s in charge of taking care of the animal cages and clean up.” Julie said as she sat in the break room talking on the phone to Donatello. She’d been working for Higgins Pharmaceutical for a little over a month in hopes of finding out anything that might have been helpful to her boyfriend and his family.

“Ju-Ju there’s gotta be something else there. I mean, everything I’ve ever learned and everything I know tells me there’s something not right there.” Don answered, running his hands down his face in frustration. He heard the sigh on the other end of the line and knew that Julie was just as frustrated as he was.

“Yeah, no kidding. There’s some secret test the big wigs have been doing lately. I’ve tried to get Greg to tell me about it but…it’s not happened, obviously. That’s what’s really getting to me…this secret testing. I mean it’s just—“

“Weird. You’re right, that is kind of…Jule? Ju-Ju you there?” Silence filled the lines between them and Donatello swore he heard a new muffled voice enter the picture. After a minute, he heard a soft rustling sound before his familiar voice came back.

“Don? I gotta go. Greg needs me. I’ll talk to you later, babe. Bye.”

“Oh, okay b…ye….” Pulling the headset off, he looked at it for a moment before shaking his head and setting them down. He had to admit, the testing wasn’t the only strange thing going on in that building. To have Julie working at two in the morning? That was pretty strange, too. As he was starting to shut things down for a little while in hopes of getting a bit of rest, Donatello was startled by the slamming of his door hitting the wall.

“Gimme the tapes for the Higgins Building.” An extremely angered voice demanded from behind him. Thinking an intruder had slipped past his alarm systems, he was about to spring into defensive action when he saw Michelangelo storming towards him with fire blazing in his eyes.

“What? Why? Wait…Mike what’s going on? I’ve been watching these tapes all night and—“

“JUST GIMME THE TAPE FOR TONIGHT DAMNIT!” Mike yelled, heading straight for the VCR. The commotion from below was enough to bring the red and blue banded brothers into the room to investigate while Don struggled to find the tape Mike was demanding.

“What’s going on Mikey?” Leo questioned, stepping up to his now pacing brother.

“If Don can find the tape, I’d show ya’s.” He grumbled, the fire still burning in his eyes. Exchanging a somewhat scared look with his brother Raph, Leo took a hesitant step forward.

“Did you find something?”

“Nooooo…I just wanted to watch some mind numbing TV and figured his surveillance tapes would do.” Came the snide remark as Don quickly handed a tape over.

“There, Mike…it stopped recording at two-twenty-three. I had to switch tapes.”

“Fine…whatever.” Mike answered as he put the tape in and hit fast forward. Grumbling and cursing under his breath, he finally hit play as the shrouded figure came into view. Stepping back so his brothers could see, he crossed his arms and could feel himself trembling with pent up anger.

“Mike, I don’t see what’s so important about this it’s just some one leaving. Probably a janitor or something.” Leo suggested as he continued watching.

“Just watch…”

As the brothers continued to stare at the screen, Michelangelo fingered a small sharp object in his hands. He knew they’d see it soon enough and unless he’d lost his mind, they’d know exactly what had gotten him so riled up. After a moment of utter silence, he heard what he’d been waiting for.

“Holy son-of-a…” whispered Raphael, stepping closer for a better look.

“It…it can’t be. It’s impossible.” Added Donatello.

“But…he’s dead. How could it be—“

“It’s Shredder.” Michelangelo growled, turning to leave before spinning around with lightening speed and sending a single sheriken into the monitor, barely missing his brother’s heads.


	10. Time of Action

Greggory Markus was never much of a scientist like his brother was. Instead, he preferred to spend his time with the test animals that were brought in for experiments. He’d been told all the animals were either strays or ones found on the ‘death-row list’ at local pounds, but there were many times he found that hard to believe. Wherever his brother and their employer had managed to pick up the animals, it was Greggory’s responsibility to keep their cages clean, their food and water regulated, and to dispose of the ones that were too ‘weak’ to withstand the testing. It was a hard job for the animal lover, especially if he’d taken a certain fondness to one of the weaker ones.

He never wanted to go to work for his brother; however, his mother insisted on it claiming it would give him the work experience he would need to get any job out there he wanted. That failed to be the case and fourteen years later he was still playing lackey and janitor just as he did when he was hired. It seemed the only thing to have changed since he started was the way his brother acted and treated other living beings. When Greggory first started with William, his brother only tested on field mice, the common house mice, and the typical white lab rat. William also wouldn’t even consider testing anything on a human until he was sure it wouldn’t harm them. Once Usagi Higgins came into the picture however, that all changed.

When he and William had picked Gwen up that day on the streets five weeks prior, Greggory had no idea she was pregnant or what his brother and Higgins had planned for her. Once he found out though, he instantly started kicking himself for being a part of it. He wasn’t the type to hurt another person and having to help William and Higgins from time to time tore his heart out—especially after he already told Gwen he wouldn’t hurt her. He did make it a point though, to sneak into Gwen’s hidden room to keep her company from time to time and even provide her with scraps of left over meals and canisters of water.

The Quapregta William had injected her with had done as it was supposed to and Gwen now appeared to be nearly nine months pregnant instead of the almost six she really was. Due to the rapid growth of the baby, William and Usagi decided best to leave well enough alone and just monitor Gwen’s progress instead of performing anymore tests. However, with the rapid growth of the child, came the rapid deterioration of Gwen’s health. She’d lost a majority of her strength and muscle mass, her smooth hair that Mike had loved so much was coarse and beginning to fall out in clumps, and her vision had been reduced to only dim, blurry, shadow figures.

Knowing Gwen didn’t have much time left, and wanting to make her as comfortable as possible, Greggory recruited the help of his new assistant and friend Julie Alexander to bring food, water, soap and a washcloth into Gwen’s room while William and Usagi slept. As his watch ticked over to two-forty-five am, Greggory rushed into the break room Julie was in and quickly told her his plans to help one of the ‘test subjects’ and begged her to help him. If Gwen wasn’t going to be around much longer, he wanted to make sure she was surrounded by friendly faces at least one more time.

Stuffing the sandwiches and muffins into his lab coat pockets, he handed Julie the canister of water along with a large bowl and a small wash cloth before leading her down a long dark hallway. Julie was never informed of Gwen’s presence and Greggory knew if his brothers ever found out she knew, they’d make a quick decision to have her “terminated” from the company. He still wasn’t sure why Dr. Higgins had employed Julie since she was blind, but he had the feeling once they finished with Gwen, Julie would be their next ‘subject’.

Silently and carefully, the odd pair made their way down a flight of stairs and through a tunnel connecting the basement to a building across the alley. Greggory made sure he didn’t walk to fast or too slow for Julie and guided her carefully up the second flight of stairs going back into the second buildings basement. It was there that they would find another hallway system followed by one more flight of stairs taking them to the “ground floor” that Gwen was kept in. The tunnels and stairs always made Greggory feel as if he were suddenly a test rat in one of the many mazes set up in the lab, and couldn’t help but think that was exactly as his brother and Dr. Higgins intended it to be.

“Greggory? What’s going on? This isn’t the way to the lab.” Julie finally said as they neared Gwen’s room.

“I…um…I know. You’ll see…er…sorry.” Greggory blushed at his little mistake. Julie smiled and nudged against him a little as they stepped in front of Gwen’s door.

“It’s ok, Greggory…I get that all the time.” The air between the pair soon became thick as Greggory scanned the area for guards or the slim possibility of his brother showing up. When he was sure no one was present, he entered his security code and quickly ushered Julie inside. When the door closed behind them, Julie’s ears perked as she picked up on the sound of another person breathing with them.

“It’s ok…it’s just me Wenny.” Greggory said softly as he turned the lights on dim and stepped up next to Gwen’s bedside. Julie heard the third person give a small whimper before the rustling of fabric drifted through the air followed by keys jingling.

“Greggory?” A raspy though feminine voice questioned.

“Yeah. I…I brought you some food and water. And…and my friend Julie is here to help too. She’s got a bowl and wash cloth so you can clean up if you want to.” Greggory answered as he undid her restraints and helped her to carefully sit up. Once Gwen was sitting, Greggory took Julie by the arm and led her to the table. Setting the bowl and cloth down, Julie offered a friendly smile in the direction she assumed Gwen was in.

“I’d like to say it’s good to see a friendly face but…I can’t see much of anything right now.” Gwen said gruffly, trying to keep her humor up even though she felt so horrible she just wanted to sleep and never wake up.

Julie chuckled and slowly reached out, feeling around until she touched Gwen’s shoulder.

“Oh don’t worry…I haven’t seen much since I was five. In fact, come to think of it…I haven’t seen  _anything_ since I was five.” Julie answered lightly, hoping to brighten the other woman’s spirits. Gwen gave a very faint chuckle before coughing and leaning forward.

“You don’t sound so good, girly. What you in for?”

“I…don’t know…” Gwen coughed and heaved before feeling the cool cloth pressed gently against her raw chapped lips. Reaching up to take it for herself, she slowly sipped the loose water off it, knowing better than to try and drink a full cup of water since it wouldn’t stay down even if she tried. Once she’d gotten her “drink” she painfully pushed herself back up and sighed heavily.

“I don’t know. I just know I’ve been here way too long. And that…that I’m never going to see Mike again or see our baby grow up…if it even gets a chance to that is.” A sob began its choking battle in her chest as she placed her hands on her tummy. “I’ll never get to…to pick on Ang or Raph again…or…or to finally beat Leo at checkers…or Chinese Checkers…”

Greggory frowned as he set the wash cloth down and pulled Gwen into a hug. He knew she was right, and he’d heard her speak of her family so many times when they were together that it broke his heart to think of her never getting a chance to say goodbye to them. He wished he could bust her out and return her to her family, but that was one thing Gwen never told him…how to find them.

“It’s ok Gwen…at least you’ve got me here.” He said softly, giving her a very gentle hug so he didn’t risk hurting her. 

Julie felt her eyebrows raise and knew if she didn’t have her sunglasses on—or blind for that matter—her eyes would have popped out of her head as she put two and two together.

“Oh my…Y-you’re Gwen? Mike, Raph, Leo…and…Don?” She questioned hopefully. 

Carefully pushing herself off of Greggory, Gwen turned towards the dim blur to her right and frowned.  “How did you know that?”

“YES! Oh my gadgets this is great!” Greggory looked between the two women in confusion. 

Gwen’s eyes widened slightly as a new flame of hope ignited inside.  “You know Donnie! Only Don ever says ‘Oh my gadgets’ instead of ‘Oh my God’!” 

Laughing and smiling, Julie carefully wrapped her arms around Gwen and hugged her as tightly as she dared.  “You don’t know me but I’m Julie Alexander! I’m Donnie’s girlfriend…kinda…but oh wow! This is great! I haven’t worked for that weirdo for over a month for nothing! Mike’s been worried sick! They all have! I talk to Don every night on the phone and he tells me what kind of shape the family’s been in since you went missing. Oh…oh wow…wow wow wow!! Oh Don’s gonna be dancin’ in his shell when he finds out I finally found you! And Mikey!? Oh boy is he gonna be happy!!” Julie exclaimed, pulling back and laughing still. A bright ray of hope filled the room as Greggory looked between the two again.

“You know her family?” He asked hopefully, already trying to plan on ways of getting her out of there.

“I’m kind of dating her husband’s older brother. Oh Greggory you’re a Saint! Ok…point me in the right direction, I’m gonna go call Donnie and we’re gonna get you out of here, girl.”

 

* * *

“You’re brother seems to have made a new friend, Markus. It would appear he’s been bringing food and water into our test room.” Usagi stated blandly, staring at his security monitor as it replayed tapes of Greggory and Gwen together. He was slightly amused at the pair, but mostly annoyed. William stepped up next to the screen and shook his head sadly.

“He won’t harm anything.”

“I realize that, Markus…and that’s what concerns me. If he will not help us in retrieving the freak’s child…then he’s a threat and must be done away with.” Never looking from the monitors, Dr. Higgins twirled a small dagger between his fingers as his business associate shot him a sudden and brief—though plainly obvious—worried look.

“Done away with? How do you mean? You cannot just ‘do away’ with Greggory. He can be swayed, I know he can.” William answered as he tried to hide his worry for his younger brother. His attempt failed and Usagi gave a frighteningly disturbed smile.

“For your sake, I hope he can be. Mustn’t have our prize getting rescued before it’s time. Oh…but in case he can’t be…I’m afraid I will be forced to…terminate…both of you.”

William felt the blood leave his head as he gulped hard. It was a well known fact that if a colleague of Dr. Usagi Higgins were terminated that person was never seen or heard from again. To the public, his lawyers claimed they were given a substantial amount of money to disappear, but those on the inside knew better. Knowing that even though at times he hated his younger brother and his innocent ways, he was still his brother and it was his responsibility to keep him safe. Coughing, William’s face hardened and he straightened his stout stature.

“I can assure you, Dr. Higgins, Greggory will not be a problem any longer. But, perhaps it’s best if we went down to check on Ms. Masterson…just in case.” He suggested, already moving his short round legs as quickly as he could towards the door. Usagi’s smile widened as he stood.

“Yes, perhaps it would be a good idea.”

 

* * *

He couldn’t say he that he wasn’t surprised by seeing the ‘ghost’ of their mortal enemy the Shredder there on the screen again, because in truth, he was scared to death. He was there when they delivered the final blow to that oversized tin can and put an end to his reign of terror he’d been ruling over for as long as they could remember—yet there he was, right before their eyes, alive and well and back to no good.

Raphael was also blown away at the deadly force and accuracy his youngest brother had developed with the sheriken. If either he or Leo had moved even just an inch closer to the middle, they would have gotten their heads sliced in half easily. He knew in the weeks that Gwen had been missing that his brother had changed drastically, he just never imaged that he’d changed  _that_ much. He knew then just how dangerous his best pal and ever smiling brother could be when pushed to and beyond his limit.

Once the brothers had removed the sheriken from the then injured television screen, they began to combine ideas and different ways to approach him and take him down once and for all…again. It was during their brainstorming that Donatello’s headset began ringing signaling an incoming call.

“Don’t answer dat now, Don. Work can wait.” Raph grumbled as he and his brothers bounced ideas off each other. Donatello waved them off as he rushed for it.

“It could be important. If it’s not…I’ll hang up.” He said, grabbing the headset and hitting the ‘talk’ button. “Don here.”

“Oh my Gads! Donnie! It’s Julie! You are never going to believe this! I found Gwen!” Don felt his hands slip off the table and nearly fell down when he heard those words break through the static. Eyes wide, he quickly glanced at his monitor to make sure it really was Julie and attempt to trace her call.

“You’re kidding? You found her? Where? Is she alright?” He questioned already punching in codes and sequences to get a lock on where she was calling from. The other three turtles muted their conversation and turned to look at the purple banded one, only able to hear his side of the conversation.

“She’s WHAT!? No…no…you stay right there. DON’T MOVE! We’re on our way. Ok!! I said we were on our way and we are!” Don exclaimed, hanging up before turning and booking it for his door.

“Guys! Move! We have to get to Higgins Pharmaceutical Building…NOW!”

The brothers wasted no time in following Donatello out into the sewers and to the van they kept hidden in an abandoned warehouse. None of them bothered to question where they were going or why, they just knew something big had happened and needed their attention and it needed it immediately.

Leonardo maneuvered the van through the streets like Dale Earnhart Jr. and within minutes they were screeching to a halt in front of the darkened building. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary as they leapt from the vehicle and did a scan of the area before ducking into the shadows. Donatello was in the lead as he sprinted to the corner and zipped to the left, following an alley that that led directly to the run down brick building Michelangelo had seen Shredder enter earlier that night. The others followed and stared in brief confusion as Don slid to a pause at the door held open by a young redheaded woman.

“Don? Is…is that you?” She asked, tilting her head to one side.

“Yeah, it’s me. You said you found her. Can you find your way back?” Don questioned, placing a hand on her shoulder as he slid past her and into the hallway. Julie smirked and waited for a moment as she heard the other three slip past her and into the dark hall. Closing the door behind her, she carefully moved past them.

“I can’t see a damn thing.” Raph grumbled, his hand on the wall for guidance. He heard the stranger give a small chuckle.

“Welcome to my world, bud. C’mon…she’s this way.”

Silently the small group moved down the maze of hallways. Of the five, Donatello was the only one slightly skeptical of Julie being able to find their way to Gwen’s room, though he knew he shouldn’t be. Some way, some how his Ju-Ju Bean was the least blind person he knew. Though she had a person come in every once in awhile to help her around her apartment, she could—for the most part—take care of herself just as any other person could. He figured that was possibly one reason he’d fallen for her.

As they moved, the brothers all felt their hope being restored. True, neither Don nor Julie said it was Gwen flat out, but it didn’t need to be said. They’d had their eyes on this place from the beginning so it only made sense that it’d be her they were there looking for. Leonardo silently wondered to himself though, who this woman was that had met them at the door and was leading them to their lost sister-in-law. He’d never seen her before and never heard Gwen or Angela mention any other friends of theirs. It didn’t matter, he supposed, if she was going to help them then she had to be a friend.

Raphael on the other hand knew exactly who their new friend was. He’d been with Donatello the night they met. In fact, it had been his idea to go check out the Rocky Street Grill the night Julie’s band, Smooth, had been playing. Naturally, Raph hadn’t gone to hear the band, he had gone because Rocky Street was supposed to be the hottest non-nightclub nigh spot there was and since Angela refused to go, he’d managed to convince his reclusive brother to go along. Not too impressed with the place, Raphael had wanted to leave early but was forced to stay as Don stood staring at their lead singer like a love sick puppy. In fact, he was the only one of the brothers to know about Don’s “secret” get togethers with the redhead.

Hands already clenched tightly around his nunchakus, Michelangelo could feel his blood boiling. He was finally going to get his revenge. It didn’t matter that the hallways were still mostly dark as he darted along with the others; all that mattered was getting to Gwen and the bastards who kidnapped her. His heart racing, all he could think of was how badly he wanted to spill the blood of her captors.

After what felt like hours and hundreds of wrong turns—though neither were the case—Julie finally stopped in front of a door. Tilting her head to one side, she placed a finger to her lips to signal silence as she listened. The halls were still and deathly quiet. The silence was so great the turtles all felt the need to put their hands over their hearts in hopes of silencing their almost echoing beats. Frowning, Raphael was about to question why they were supposed to be quiet when Michelangelo shoved past him. His eyes narrowed, he glared at Julie.

“This Gwen’s room?” He nearly growled. Julie shushed him and frowned.

“Quiet. Yes…this is Gwen’s room but we have to be—“ Before she could finish her sentence, Mikey—followed by his hot-tempered brother Raph—kicked at the door with all their might sending it soaring into the side wall.

“Careful.” Julie finished as she sighed and stepped to the side for the rescuers to enter. The four brothers rushed into the room and stopped short. Julie felt the change of air and put a hand on the wall.

“Donnie? What’s wrong?” She asked softly.

“She’s gone.”


	11. "We're too late..."

The gang of four stared helplessly around the empty room. There were no signs of anyone ever being in there to begin with. The walls were pristine and white; the floors sparkling and clean; and the bed she had been strapped too was made up nicely. The air around them was quickly filling with tension as Julie placed a hand on the nearest turtles shell. Though she was blind, she knew that was Gwen’s room so hearing she was no longer in there confused her deeply.

“What do you mean, she’s gone? She was just here a couple of minutes ago. She and Greggory…I left them right here. Greggory was gonna get her cleaned up while I went out to call you and wait. I know this was her room…I know it was…” Julie said softly, her voice trailing off as she quietly recited the path they took to get there to herself.

A growl of anger rumbled its way up and out of Michelangelo’s mouth as he tightened the grip on his nunchakus. He believed Julie when she said Gwen was there, he didn’t know how or why, but he could feel her in that room. He could feel her pain and suffering, her nights of crying and longing to be back home safe and sound in his arms again. Moving away from his brothers, he walked around the room, reaching out with every ounce of his training to try and pick up on anything that may have happened to her recently. What he felt made his blood run cold and his eyes go black. He wanted to scream, to rip the building top to bottom in order to find the person or people behind all of Gwen’s torment. Glancing to his right, he saw the two way mirror. Seeing nothing but red all around him, Michelangelo let out an anguished yell as he punched it, shattering it into hundreds of little glass shards.

Ignoring the blood dripping down his fingers, Mike stopped when he heard the yelp of surprise come from the floor in the other room. Poking his head in from the window he’d just created, Michelangelo noticed a dark figure cowering in the farthest corner, curled up and whimpering like a little child. Eye ridges knitted together, he and his brothers exited Gwen’s room and entered the room to the right. Light poured into the room and caused the figure to whimper more and curl up into a tighter ball. Shoving past his brothers, Raphael yanked the form off the ground and slammed them up against the wall.

“Where’s Gwen ya, dirtball? Huh? Whad’ya do ta her? I sweah ta ya, I’m gonna hurt ya worse den ya already are if ya don’t answer me an’ I mean now!” He growled, his eyes narrowed into thin white slits. The frightened figure whimpered and trembled under Raphael’s tight grasp and glanced nervously at the three other turtles that had closed in around him.

“What do you want with her?” Leonardo questioned, his fingers readjusting their grip on his katanas.

“If you took her to get to us, congratulations, you have us…now release her.” Donatello added, poised and ready to attack if the opportunity arose.

“I…I didn’t do anything to her! H-Honest! G-Gwen’s my friend…I…I was trying to h-help her. P-Please…d-d-d-don’t hurt me!” Greggory stuttered, blood mixing with tears in his eyes. Julie carefully stepped up behind the brothers and tilted her head to one side.

“Greggory? Where’s Gwen? What happened? Why aren’t you with her anymore?” Donatello turned his attention back to his girlfriend and lowered his guard enough to move next to her.

“You know this guy, Jules?”

“Of course I do! This is Greggory!  _He’s_ the one who’s been  _helping_ Gwen! He’s brought her whatever kind of food he could, water…he’s kept her company. I bet if it weren’t for him then Gwen—well…never mind. Greggory, tell me what happened.”

Raphael grudgingly loosened his grip on Greggory’s shirt and lowered him to the floor. Gulping hard, Greggory looked between the brothers and then at Julie. He’d seen the picture Dr. Higgins had taken of Gwen and her turtle husband, but for some reason he didn’t believe it was possible until that minute when he had four  _very_ angry brothers glaring harshly at him. His head throbbed as he pressed the sleeve of his now horribly red stained lab coat to his forehead.

“Um…d-does anyone know first aid?” He questioned softly as the warm thick liquid seeped through the fabric and onto his hand. Frowning, Julie gave Donatello a shove and motioned towards him.

“There’s a first aid kid in the supply closet across the hall. Help him.” She ordered sternly. Despite the fact the redhead unable to see him, Donatello knew better than to not listen the first time she told or asked him to do something. There was something about redheads that caused their tempers to flair up when ignored or disobeyed, and Don knew that first hand—and not just because of Julie either. Leaving and coming back a few seconds later with the first aid kit, the other brothers released him and stood back to let Don do his work.

Greggory gulped as he looked between them all and then at Julie. He had to admit, he wasn’t sure who to be more afraid of; his brother and Dr. Higgins or the four angry turtles that had him surrounded. Giving a small smile, Julie placed her hand on the wall until she reached his shoulder.

“Tell us what happened, Greggory? Where’s Gwen?” She asked softly, her smooth gentle voice putting the scared scientist at ease some. Taking a deep breath as Don cleaned the wound on his head, he closed his eyes.

“I…I was waiting for you…”

_ “It’s gonna be ok, Gweny…Julie’s gonna go get you help. Then you’ll be able to go home.” Greggory said happily as he set about getting things together for her escape. For the first time in she couldn’t remember how long, she felt the sides of her mouth arch up in a feeble smile. She could almost hear her husband and brothers playfully taunting each other from the dojo, could smell the green tea brewing on the stove, and feel the comfort of Mike’s arms wrapped safely around her as she slept. _

_ “Home…now there’s a word I never thought I’d hear again on good terms…” She answered softly, feeling her hope being restored. _

_ “Gwen? Um…I…I wanted to apologize for what my brother and Dr. Higgins have been doing to you. I wish they hadn’t.” _

_ “Thank you, Greggory. I wish they hadn’t either…but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life it’s that you can’t change the past. What’s done is done and they’re just going to have to deal with what they’ve done when it comes down to their judgment day…or when my husband and his brothers get their hands on them.” She answered, her voice hinting at humor but Greggory wasn’t so sure she was joking. _

_ The pair continued to wait for Julie to return, talking softly between themselves and making sure things were in place in case they needed to make a hasty escape. As the minutes ticked by, Greggory was starting to feel a sickening lump forming in his stomach. The longer it took Julie to call Donatello and for them to get there, the more chances they had of being caught. Finally, after what felt like hours, the door opened. Thinking it was Julie back to get them, Greggory turned to face her with a smile on his face. What he saw instead made his blood run cold and his heart stop. _

_ The two were only silhouetted by the hallway light, but Greggory knew who they were. Hearing the taller of the pair clicking his tongue in disappointment, he stepped into the room, the shorter following close behind. Greggory felt Gwen tense up as the air of the room changed. _

_ “Greggory? What’s going on…who…who’s here?” She asked softly as she blinked towards the grey fuzzy shadows approaching her. _

_ “Tsk, tsk, tsk, Greggory. It’s a shame that my suspicions about you were correct.” Dr. Higgins stated as he moved to tower over the now frightened scientist. William frowned and he stepped up next to his younger brother. Pulling a syringe from his lab coat pocket, he held it up to the light. The clear liquid within it glimmered in the light, causing a lump to form in Greggory’s throat. He didn’t like the looks of that, not at all. _

_ “As punishment, little brother, you’re going to have to give Gwen this one final shot.” William said as Usagi moved to the opposite side of the bed. In a feeble attempt to make a break for it, Gwen pushed herself up and off the table only to fall to her knees. Cursing as her nails scraped his skin, William glared down at her as he grabbed her arm. _

_ “You foolish woman! You couldn’t escape even if you tried.” He spat, yanking her back to her feet. With a cry of pain and surprise, Gwen found herself placed back on the bed and a pair of strong hands placed on her shoulders. _

_ “Just lie down, Ms. Masterson…this won’t hurt a bit.” Usagi said, forcing her shoulders back down towards the bed. Gwen tried to fight back, but knew she was far too weak. _

_ “I can’t wait…for my husband to get his…hands on you. He’s going to…tear you to…shreds…you…Frankenstein movie reject.” _

_ Usagi gave a small laugh as he shook his head, his hands pressing painfully down on her shoulders. _

_ “Bold to the end. It’s a shame you’re never going to get a chance to tell your precious husband your location. Greggory, take the syringe, now.” Usagi ordered, glaring hard at Greggory. Gulping and shaking his head, the timid man took a step back. _

_ “N-no…I’m not gonna help you hurt her anymore. Let her go…p-please?” _

_ “Greggory! Take the syringe and give her the shot, now, or else I’ll make sure you never see the light of day again.” William threatened, his voice rising with anger. _

_ “N-no!” _

_ “Greggory…it’s ok…just…do what they tell you to do. I have the feeling…I’m gonna get the shot…with or without you giving it to me.” Gwen said softly, her hope and will to fight evaporating for the last time. Greggory looked at her in disbelief. How could she be giving up like that so easily when he was sure reinforcements were only minutes away? She was so close to being free and yet, she didn’t seem to want it. _

_ “But…but Wenny…they’re on their way! They could be almost here! You’re going to be saved, remember? I…I’m sure Julie has called them by now and…and that they’re on their way to get you.” _

_ Gwen gave a wan smile as she tilted her head towards her friends voice. She knew he was right, but there was a bigger part of her that knew they’d never make it in time so why bother even hoping? _

_ “Tell Julie thanks…for everything. And if you see Michelangelo…tell him…tell him that I love him.” She said softly as William’s anger with his brother rose. Shoving him hard against a wall, the shorter man glared angrily at him. _

_ “What did you think you were doing, bringing that woman down here!? Greggory you incredible imbecile! After all the things I’ve done to help you through the years! This is how you repay me!? By stabbing me in the back like this? I will personally see to it that you  **never** see the light of day again.” He growled before turning his attention back to Gwen. Picking the needle up once more, I stared at his brother hard. _

_ “Take the syringe, Greggory, or I’ll make sure when Julie comes back with her little friends she—like you—will never been seen or heard from again.” _

_ “If…if I do this…will…will you not hurt Julie…or the others?” He asked timidly as he took a step forward. He should have seen the flash of deceit in his brothers’ eyes as he nodded. _

_ “They will not be harmed…and neither will you.” _

_ Reaching out slowly, Greggory felt his fingers wrap around the cold body of the needle. He hated having to pick between his only two friends, but if it meant saving a life, he supposed he didn’t have much of a choice. He saw Gwen’s slight smile as she slowly moved her hand to place it on his arm. _

_ “It’s ok, Greggory. Just make sure no one else has to go through what I am. Make sure they leave Julie alone.” She said softly, her voice holding no signs of resentment towards him. Biting his lip, Greggory felt the tears coming to his eyes. He didn’t know what was in the syringe, but after everything they’d already done to her he was sure it was not a good thing. _

_ “I…I’m sorry, Wenny…” He nearly cried as he stuck the tip of the needle into an already exposed vein, injecting her with the serum. Within seconds, he saw the look of fear overcome her face and stay there. The only thing moving on her were her frightened eyes, though even those soon stuck in one place—staring straight at him. Gulping hard and his heart racing, Greggory looked at his brother and then at Usagi. _

_ “What was that? What did you make me give her? What did you do to her!?” He exclaimed, dropping the syringe to the ground and trying to shake her shoulder. “Gwen? Gwen are you ok? G-Gwen!?” _

_ William gave a small smirk as he took his brother by the arms and pulled him away from the paralyzed woman lying on the bed. All the while, Greggory fought to break free and called to Gwen to wake up and run. Shaking his head, William opened the door to the observation room and stepped inside with his younger brother. _

_ “She will be just fine, Greggory. Now just wait here and in a few minutes someone will come to get you.” He said, shoving his brother away and turning for the door. _

_ “What did you do to her!? Why can’t she move?” Greggory cried, his blood pounding through his veins so loudly it was almost deafening. Without answer him, William left the observation room and closed the door behind him. Locking it, he returned to Gwen’s room as he and Dr. Higgins set about checking the vitals of the baby. Greggory watched in horror, pounding on the glass to try and get them to stop. _

“I tried to get them to stop…but…but they wouldn’t. I…I don’t know what they did to her but it didn’t look good. I saw them wheel her out and then someone brought a new bed in. I…I tried to escape but Willie locked the door and it can’t be unlocked from the inside.” Greggory gave a hiss of pain as Donatello wrapped his broken arm in a make shift sling. Glancing around at his captivated audience, he took a deep breath as his eyes met with Michelangelo’s. Though he’d never been introduced to any of them, there was something about Michelangelo’s stance and facial expressions that let him know he was the one Gwen was so in love with. Looking away, he sighed heavily.

“Then I heard the door open. I thought it was Willie so I was hoping it meant he’d changed his mind and was going to release her…and me. When I turned around…I saw a bunch of guys…all dressed in black. I…I’d never seen them before…they didn’t work here that I know of. They scared me…and backed me into a corner. Before I knew it…they were beating on me…trying to kill me probably. Willie lied to me…I thought I was going to die. But…but then they suddenly stopped and ran from the room. I dunno why but…but they probably heard you guys coming and didn’t want to get caught.” He finally finished as Donatello finished dressing his wounds.

Julie felt sick to her stomach as she heard Greggory tell them his story. She wondered what would have happened if she’d still been in there with them. Would she have met the same fate as Greggory? Or would they had been able to fight the two back? Lifting her head, she sighed heavily.

“Do you have any clue where they might have taken her, Greggory?” She questioned. The man sniffled softly as he shook his head.

“N-no…I d-don’t. I…I wish I did…I wanna help…G-Gwen was my friend.” He answered, tears forming in his eyes once again. Looking up at the brothers, he wiped his eyes and tried to gather his composure. “I…I’m sorry for helping my brother kidnap her. I…I didn’t know what was going to happen to her…if…if I’d known…I wouldn’t have helped him. I’m s-sorry.”

Donatello rested his large three fingered hand on the man’s smaller shoulder. “It’s ok, Greggory. You found out what they were doing was bad and tried to stop them, that’s all that matters.” Looking over at Julie, he gave a small smile. “And you tried to keep anything from happening to anyone else. Julie? I need you to do me a favor. You need to take Greggory somewhere safe. Chances are his brother and this Higgins guy thinks he’s dead and it’s probably be best for everyone if we kept it that way.”

“They can go ta Angie’s place. No one on the top ‘ere knows ‘bout Angie.” Raph suggested. Leo nodded his agreement.

“That’s a good idea, Raph. Call for a cab and go there. Don’t leave that apartment for any reason what-so-ever until you hear from one of us. Got it?” Leo added as he helped Greggory off the floor and to the door.

“Whoa wait a second here. I may be blind but I’m not useless! I can help!” Julie objected, planting her feet hard into the floor. Donatello sighed as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Julie, it’s going to get very dangerous around here once we find those guys. You could get hurt or worse. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you. Now just go and follow Leo, he’ll give you Angie’s address once you’re safe on the streets. Tell her who you are and that you’re a friend of ours.” He said calmly, his hazel grey-ish eyes looking into her sunglasses.

“I’m just a friend? Ooooh buster are you lucky I can’t see cuz I’d kill you with glares right now.” She answered as she was ushered out the door. Giving a small laugh, Don nodded and kissed her cheek gently.

“I know. Be careful.”

“I’m not who you should be worrying about, Donnie. But I will.” Smiling, she leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss on the beak before turning and hurrying down the hallway after Leonardo and Greggory. Feeling his cheeks flare a nice shade of redish-green, he turned around to see his two remaining brothers watching him with raised eye ridges. If any other person had seen them like that, they would have guessed them to be twin brothers given the identical looks they both had on their faces. Ducking his head a little, Donatello gathered the medical kit and set it on the table near the broken mirror.

“What was  _that_ all about Don?” Mike asked, for the first time in over a month his voice sounding just as playful and teasing as it used to.

“Nothing…it’s uh…it’s nothing.” He answered heading back for the hallway. The red and orange band brothers both glanced at each other before following him.

“Uh-huh…’ey look Mikey…I t’ink he’s blushin’…” Raph teased a playing smirk on his face. Donatello groaned and he recognized the same words he’d said to Michelangelo many years ago when they’d first met April.  _I knew those words were going to come back and bite me in the tail_ .

“I am not…” He muttered his face growing warmer as he did so though. Raphael chuckled to himself as he nodded.

“I t’ink…he’s actually turnin’ red.” Raph finished his voice thick with sarcasm and playful mocking. Michelangelo couldn’t help but give a small chuckle as he nodded and heard his quietest older brother groan and shrink into his shell a little. Shaking his head some, he stopped mid step as a thought suddenly burst into his head.

“She’s  _blind_ ?!”


	12. Battle

Once the brothers were all together again, they began their frantic search for Gwen and her captors. Racing down the hallways, they searched the empty building high and low for any sign of her through came up with nothing. Not being able to find her when they were that close, Michelangelo felt his earlier boost of joy fade back into the darkness he’d become so used to. He could feel his rage only increasing as the brothers broke down doors and darted around corners in hopes of finding Gwen.

“This is stupid! We’re running in circles. There’s got to be a surveillance room around here somewhere!” Leonardo finally exclaimed, allowing his anger to finally rise up in a single outburst for the first time in years. Slamming his shoulder hard into the nearest door, Donatello gave a triumphant smirk as he pointing inside.

“You mean…like this?” He questioned, hurrying inside the control room. Catching the guard by surprise, Raphael brought his hand down hard and fast on the back of the man’s head, rendering him unconscious as he crumbled to the floor. Gliding into his chair, Donatello’s fingers flew across the control panels with lightening speed. He could hear his brother’s anxious breathing as they stood watch and waiting for him to find something.

“C’mon, Donnie…click faster.” Raph growled, fingering his sais in case of a sudden attack. Giving a heavy sigh, Don shook his head as he continued to bring up screens and hallways on the monitors.

“I’m going as fast as I can. Ha! Found ‘em! Looks like they’re heading down hallway twelve going towards eleven.” He clicked in a few more codes and sequences to find their exact location. Leonardo grabbed a walkie-talkie from the counter and patted his younger brothers’ shoulder.

“Stay here and keep us updated on where they are and if we’re getting close.” He ordered before turning and running out of the room and to the left, darting like a madman down the halls, his two remaining brothers close on his heels.

The trio raced down the hallways, guided by the directions Donatello was feeding them via walkie-talkies from the surveillance room. Their hearts racing, the three turtles knew they were almost on top of their prey; they could feel William’s fear and Usagi’s determination. Turning one last corner, Leo felt his heart leap into his throat as a short, stout man rushed into an open room, pushing the gurney with Gwen on it in front of him. Throwing his arm out instinctively to keep his youngest brother from attacking, Leo continued to lead them closer to their enemies.

“Just where do you t’ink  _you’re_ goin’, Speedy?” Raph growled, his sais ready to be thrown if needed. Usagi stopped dead in his tracks as he heard his intruders approach him. Giving a knowing and malicious smirk, he slowly and deliberately turned to face them. Judging from the looks of shock on their faces, he knew exactly who they thought him to be. Raising an eyebrow, he lifted his hands in a slow, mocking clap.

“It can’t be true…it’s impossible…” Leo mumbled to himself as he stared at his arch nemesis. He could hear Raphael muttering his own choice words as they stared down the very likeness of a man they swore they killed years before, of a man who only haunted them now in their worst nightmares.

Michelangelo felt all emotions drain from his body save for one. He’d never wanted to spill the blood of his enemy more than he did in that instant. The dark glint in Usagi’s eyes ignited a fire so fierce inside of him, Mikey was sure he was radiating heat. His hands clenching in fists of rage as he held tight to his nunchakus, he glared Usagi down through thin slits for eyes.

“What do you want with Gwen, Shredder?” Leo calmly asked, though deep down he was ready to simply run the man through the heart—if, that was, he  _had_ a heart of course. His blood ran cold, however, when he heard the menacing laugh from Dr. Higgins. Sparing a quick glance to look between his brothers, Leonardo quickly turned his attention back to the man before them.

“Shredder? My dear boy…I’m no Shredder. The Shredder was a fool, I’m not. As for what I want with the girl, it was originally meant merely to lure you from your hiding place in order for me to kill you. When that failed, however, I must admit I was rather disappointed. I thought my breed of ninja were far more intelligent and reliable than my cousins. His were mere buffoons who were taught to fight. My ninjas though? Mine are trained in the arts as well as medicine and martial arts.” Usagi paused for dramatic effect as he let the news set in. Placing his hands behind his back, he couldn’t help but smile as he slowly made his way towards them.

“I do want to say though, I find it absolutely fascinating that you creatures do exist. I suppose it proves Saki wasn’t insane after all. I’ll be sure to let his mother know. Also, once I found out that one of you is able to procreate well, you can imagine my surprise and I knew I couldn’t let such a scientific discovery slip through my fingers. In fact, as we speak, my—business associate—is helping her through what I can only imagine to be a terribly painful birthing process. She appears to be a strong young lady, though, I’m afraid to be the one to tell you that it’s unlikely she’ll survive.”

Though he wasn’t sure which one of them Gwen had been associated with, he let his gaze linger on each of them long enough to see the fire erupt in their eyes. When his gaze landed on the one with the orange bandana, however, he saw the pure raw rage plastered all over his face and body language and knew he was the one he’d captured on film with her. Curling the side of his mouth up in a cruel smirk, he continued to stare at Michelangelo.

“Did you honestly think it was possible for a mutant turtle and a human to successfully reproduce? Your mate is lucky we took her, or she could be dead right now. It appears the…thing…you created is growing at an accelerated rate. It’s slowly and painfully killing her.”

Those words cut through the air with such ferocity that Michelangelo swore they actually drew blood when they hit him. Could it really be true that their child really was slowly killing Gwen? Was it because of him that Gwen would possibly die? He felt his mind racing with thoughts as his heart nearly stopped.  _What are you doing, Mike!? He’s lying! Snap out of it!_ He yelled at himself, shaking his head and blinking quickly as he growled deep in his throat.

“You’re lying…”

“Am I? I’d like you to try and prove me differently.” Usagi answered, a defiant smirk on his face as he spread his arms wide and then motioned for the door. Shaking with anger, Michelangelo lifted a nunchaku and began to spin it at a deadly speed as he started his approach on Usagi.

“You guys get to Gwen…this asshole’s all mine…” He growled through clenched teeth as he edged closer. Knowing better than to argue with him, Leo and Raph turned their attention to the door they’d seen William rush Gwen into. Without another word, they both set to work on getting the door open.

Narrowing his eyes, Michelangelo got closer to Usagi and eyed him up and down as he waited for his opponent to make some move for self-defense. One of the many things he had learned from his Sensei was never strike a defenseless opponent unless they strike first. Not one to break his honor and stoop to Usagi’s level, Mike continued to circle him like a hungry tiger. A haunting smile played on the taller man’s face as Mike’s anger continued to rise.

“You must be Mike. How does it feel knowing you’ve just killed the only truly desperate woman in New York to ‘love’ you?”

“Gwen does love me…and she’s not dead.”

“Well not yet…but by the time your friends there get through that door, she will be.”

“I don’t like empty threats…they’re so unoriginal and ‘Wizard of Oz’-ish.” Mike retorted, moving in a little closer.

“It’s not an empty threat, turtle…it’s a promise.”

 

* * *

“This is stupid…completely stupid! I could be helping them! I’m not helpless, so why are they treating me like I am?” Julie ranted as the cab sped off down the nearly empty streets of Manhattan heading towards Angela’s apartment. She wasn’t sure how much further they had to go, but she knew she didn’t like the idea of being sent away just because things were possibly going to get hairy. She wanted to help Donatello and his brothers more. She knew she could…some way, some how.

When the cab finally stopped in front of Angela’s apartment, Julie carefully helped Greggory to the street before paying the cabbie and heading up to the door. She could tell Greggory was in a lot of pain and she truly felt bad for her friend as she placed her hands on the doorknob. Frowning, she turned her head towards the taller man and gave a small smile.

“Hey Greg? Would you page up to her apartment for me? I don’t know which button is hers.”

Nodding, Greggory looked over the different names before he saw the only “Angela” listed. Pressing the button, he waited until he heard a pleasant female voice reply.

“Hello?”

“Hi…Angie? My name’s Julie Alexander…I’m a friend of Donatello’s. He told me to come here because he knew we’d be safe.” Julie answered, tilting her head towards the voice box. There was silence for a moment before Angie replied again.

“Hang on.”

Moments later a woman appeared on the opposite side of the door and slowly unlocked it. Opening it slowly, Angela poked her head out and looked at them suspiciously.

“Donnie sent both of you?”

“Greggory’s hurt. He was hurt protecting Gwen. Please, at least let him come in where it’s safe.” Julie said, her voice on the edge of begging. Eyes going wide, Angela threw the door open and stepped right in front of them.

“You found Gwen!? Where is she!? Is she ok!? Do Mikey and the guys know?! Oh I can’t just sit here when we’ve finally found her! She’s my best friend! I have to go see her!”

“Whoa, slow down. Let us in and I’ll explain.”

 

* * *

Michelangelo cringed in pain as he dodged a punch only to move right into a side-kick from his opponent. He couldn’t believe the speed and agility Usagi possessed.

Usagi was cool and collected as he blocked move by move and delivered his own well placed hits. He didn’t need any weapons save for his hands and feet, and it brought a wicked smile to his face as he showed the turtle just how skilled he was. Hardly breaking a sweat as the young mutants body glistened in the bright white lights, Usagi continued to battle him, both physically and mentally.

“Do you really think you can defeat me, foolish cretin? You tire even as I speak. You have grown slow and out of shape since the unfortunate demise of my cousin. Perhaps in your youth you could have posed a threat to me, but now? Now you are a minor nuisance. You and your so called brethren are a disgrace to the very name of ninja warriors.”

His blood pressure raising another step, Michelangelo growled low in his throat as he took another swipe at the man. He tried his hardest to block Usagi’s voice and concentrate on his attacks but some how found it nearly impossible to do. There was something truly unsettling about his calm, unfaltering voice that cut through any wall he built and nearly cost him the battle a number of times.

“Don’t you ever shut up?” He growled through clenched teeth, twirling a nunchaku up and around before bringing it down hard across Usagi’s shoulder blade as he spun past him. Cursing out in pain, a fire shot up in Usagi’s eyes as he turned to deliver a counter blow.

“It must hurt you terribly to know your precious mate would cry at night, cursing your name for what you’d done to her. Vowing that once she was well enough she would report you all to any scientist who would listen.” He lied, hoping to catch Mike off guard. The thought of Gwen crying at night was enough for Mike to nearly slip, and made his heart ache all the more for her. He was sure she’d cried at night, he could feel it. When he’d sit alone in their room silently, his mind reaching out for her he could just barely make out her energy and knew she was crying. He also knew Usagi was lying about the rest.

“You’re not gonna get me to believe you, dude. I know my Gwen  _waaaaay_ better than you do, and she would not sell us out to scientists. As for cursing my name…well…that’s to be expected. She’s done it enough at home that it’s no big surprise. Only difference is, when she does it at home…usually means I goofed somewhere to piss her off and which also means…great make-up sex.” Michelangelo answered, a playful taunt in his voice as he smirked and laid a sickening whack against the man’s shoulder before rolling out of the way of the incoming fist.

As the battle between Usagi and Michelangelo waged on, Leonardo and Raphael were fighting a battle of their own with the thick door keeping them from Gwen. It seemed no matter what they tried, the door was impenetrable. Shoulders aching and limbs throbbing, the two oldest brothers felt their strength waning as they continued their assault on the door. It was beginning to look hopeless as their sharp blades nicked and dulled against the hard steal of the door. Growling in frustration, Raphael barreled his sai into the control panel on the wall in hopes of it short circuiting and opening. As the circuit panel popped and sparked, Leo raised an eye ridge and sighed.

“That only works in the movies, Raph…” He chided before returning his attack on the door.  Rolling his eyes, Raph yanked the sai back, bringing part of the circuitry with it. It was as he tried to remove the sparking wires and crunched metal that the door finally slid up and allowed them entrance to the dark room.

Hearing the swish behind him, Michelangelo turned his attention to his brothers, momentarily forgetting his battle. In the moment it took Mike to turn his head, Usagi retrieved a small pellet from his pocket which he threw onto the floor. Filling the room with a thick smoke screen, the turtles were left standing there coughing and waving their hands in front of their faces in a pathetic attempt to get it to clear. When it finally settled, the three rushed forward into the room.

“Did you guys find her? What do you see? There’s no cameras in there…what’s going on?” Donatello’s tinny voice questioned through the scratchy walkie-talkie. Leo moved around the room, squinting to try and see anything that might be Gwen, or William hiding to attack. The room was deathly silent, the air thick and heavy, a feeling that made each of them feel their stomachs lurch towards their throats.

His heart pounding loudly against his plastron, Mike moved past Leo and stopped in his tracks when he felt a warm thick liquid squish between his two toes. Finally finding a lamp, Raphael flipped it on and watched as its soft yellow glow filled the room. It was then they realized they were in an office of some form complete with chairs and a bookcase.

Lifting his foot, Mike wiped the liquid off his foot before feeling his heart stop. The world seemed to move in slow motion as he followed the trail of blood from the desk to a door across the room. He could hear Donnie calling to them over the walkie-talkie but couldn’t make out a word he said as he wrapped his fingers around the bloodied knob. Trembling, he slowly opened the door, afraid of what he would find in there. As the door glided open and the soft light from the office cast its shadow into the closet, Mikey felt a yell erupt from his chest.

Dropping to his knees, he carefully lifted the frail and blood covered body of his beloved wife. He hardly recognized the near skeleton in his arms, but has he trailed his hands down her cheek, he knew it was her. He looked over her battered and mangled body, nearly sick to his stomach when he saw the cut from just above her navel to barely above her exposed privates. Never in his life had he felt more confused than he did then, staring down at her as she continued to bleed into his lap. Gulping hard, he heard Leo’s voice ordering Donnie to get his shell down there double time and then send Raph to find anything he could to try and stop the bleeding.

“Gwen? Aw Gwen c’mon don’t do this to me, babe. Wake up, Gwen. Please? C’mon hun, open your eyes and look at me. Gwen? Please…please don’t do this to me…” Michelangelo pleaded, his heart choking up his throat as salty tears stung his eyes. Trying to smooth out her hair, he continued to persuade her awake, begging her to stay strong and stay with him.

Gwen felt herself being lifted up and pulled into a strong pair of arms. Pain scorched throughout her body, but no matter how badly she wanted to, she found herself unable to cry out and scream in agony. The faint familiar sound of a voice she hadn’t heard in over a month broke through the silence that was overwhelming her.  _Mikey…_

She could hear the pain and sorrow in his voice, though his words were hard to hear. She knew what he was thinking though. He failed to protect her. The one thing he made sure he promised her in their vows and he wasn’t even able to follow it through. Gwen tried to open her eyes to see him one last time as the pain slowly began leaving her body. Panic washing over her, she forced her eyes open only to be greeted by the same dark blurry figures she’d seen of late. It didn’t matter though, she knew that touch anywhere as it stroked down her hair and jawbone. Gathering all the strength she had left, Gwen opened her mouth to speak.

“Mikey…I thought…I’d never see you…again…” She managed to croak out. Giving a choked up half laugh, Mike pushed the stray bangs from her face.

“What are you kidding? You think you can get away from me that easily? Gimme more credit than that, babe.” He answered, trying to make a joke and laugh, though he knew it wasn’t possible to do either as the only woman he ever truly loved—the only woman to ever truly love him in return—was slipping away in his arms and he was helpless to try and save her. Trying to remain calm, Mike continued to run his hands down her face and hair.

“Gwen…I’m sorry, babe. I’m sorry about everything. I should have woken up on time and made sure you got to work safely. I should have found you sooner. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to protect you. Oh God, Gwen…I’m sorry.”

Feeling her heart break for him, Gwen wished she had enough strength to comfort him, to touch his face one more time.

“Shh…it’s ok…I…forgive you…it’s ok.” Pausing to catch her breath, Gwen slowly blinked, her eyelids struggling to reopen. Shaking in Mike’s arms, she forced a smile on her face as the world around her became lighter and lighter. Mikey was no longer a mere shadow being when his features came into focus and her eyes looked him over lovingly.

“I love…you…Mikey…I love you…so much…” She said softly as Mikey pulled her up against him, his cheek pressed against hers. He could feel her body cooling in his arms as he held her tight.

“Don’t leave me Gwen, please? Stay with me now. C’mon Gwen…please? I need you.” Mikey felt himself slipping into further despair as he felt Gwen’s body relaxing against his. Fear and anger building inside, he felt the tears rolling down his cheeks. Rocking back and forth, holding her body close to his, he stared up into his brothers eyes, silently begging for their help. Dumbfounded, the three brothers stared back at him before Don grabbed the rags from Raph and gently pulled Gwen from his arms.

“C’mon, Mike…lemme in…”


	13. "She's Out There, Somewhere"

Leonardo stood helpless in the doorway, watching Mikey clutch to Gwen and sob. His heart was a heavy weight as he felt perhaps the same amount of shame and failure at not being able to keep Mike safe from pain as Mike was feeling at his failed vow to keep Gwen safe no matter what. For the first time in his life, Leo wanted to run. He wanted to run back to the lair and hide himself away in my room. Try to forget everything he’d seen. It wasn’t possible though; Leo knew he’d never forget this moment. It would haunt him for the rest of his life. Like it would the rest of their family.

He watched as Donatello gathered his courage and strength finally, and grabbed the rags Raph had managed to find before move over to Mikey. Leo wondered quietly to himself if there was anything Don could do to save Gwen or not, but he found himself praying to any being above who would listen that he was able to do something for her. Gwen had already lost quite a bit of blood, and if she lost anymore the chances of her survival would be little to none.

As he stood there watching the white rags slowly turn crimson, Leo bristled when he felt the presence of four more life forces coming down the hallway. He shook his head, clearing the fog from his thoughts and poked his head out of the room cautiously, a frown turning his beak downwards at what he saw. Rushing down the hallway as quick as they could, each holding any sorts of medical supplies they could come up with, was Angela, Greggory, Julie and Julie’s service dog.

“Leo! Where is she? Is she all right?” Angela questioned quickly.

Behind him, Raph swore under his breath. There wasn’t a doubt in Leo’s mind that Raph was going to do his best to keep her from seeing her best friend like that.

“Angie? What do ya t’ink you’re doin’ ‘ere? I told ya to stay at your place until we said it was safe again.” He scowled, though the relief in his voice at knowing she was still in one piece was obvious.

“I’m a big girl, Raph, and if I wanna go out and help you guys save my best friend then I’m gonna! Now where is she!?” Angie snapped.

Leo stepped aside as she struggled to push her way in, not wanting to get between her and her best friend. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew Angie would fight her way in if need be and he really didn’t want to be on the receiving end of any of her punches. Before she could make it two steps into the room, Raphael pulled her back out into the hallway by her shoulders and pushed her against the wall.

He took the medical supplies from her and handed them to Leo before he turned his attention back to her. Leo in turn, quickly handed them off to Donnie, who began searching through them for a needle and thread.

“Look Ang…” Raph murmured, holding Angie’s shoulders gently in his large hands, “ya can’t go in dere right now, ok? Trust me…ya don’t  _wanna_ go in dere. Jist…sit out ‘ere for a minute or two, a’ight?”

Angie’s face paled as she swallowed thickly. “Raph, what’s going on? Is she ok?”

“Jist sit out ‘ere…” repeated Raph, a quiet but stern order.

In the room, Donnie was doing everything he could to save Gwen. When Julie appeared at his side with the bandages, he glanced up and offered a small smile. “Thanks for the supplies, Julie. Um…would you…would you mind stepping out into the hallway also? The less congested it is in here the better.”

Leo heard the pent up emotions in Donnie’s voice, and noted the appreciation that shone brightly in his eyes as he looked up at our new friend. There was more to their relationship than Donnie had told of them; it was obvious just by the way he tenderly took the box of supplies from her hands, and the way the dog never once snarled or bristled his fur at him. No, that dog was used to Donnie and accepted him as no threat to his master—Don and Julie were far more friendly than they’d let on.

Julie gave an understanding nod and without question, turned to slowly and carefully walk back out of the room silently. With just himself, Mikey and Donnie left in the room, Leo turned his attention back to Donatello and watched as his brother’s hands trembled while he threaded the surgical needle and looked back down at the gash. Blood was still seeping from it and was slowly starting to dry across her sides.

Without a word, Leo pulled the bottle of hydrogen peroxide from the box and poured it across the cut. The liquid fizzled and popped as it cleaned the blood from the area and he was able to gently and carefully clean the wound so that Don could see what he was dealing with. Donnie silently thanked him briefly before he leaned down close and began to quickly push and pull the needle through in tight, neat little stitches.

Unable to watch, Leo slowly slipped from the room and quietly closed the door behind him.

Greggory sat, staring blankly at the wall across from him, whimpering and holding his head. There was turmoil in his eyes and anyone could tell that he was blaming himself for everything that had happened to her. A part of Leo blamed him for what had happened, too, after all, Greggory been one of the ones to kidnap her in the first place. Then again, another part of Leo felt sorry for Greggory and appreciated his change of heart as he did his best to help Gwen escape. Frowning, Leo closed his eyes and leaned against the wall the best he could. It’d been a long time since the last time any of them had gotten good nights sleep and it was starting to take its toll on their systems.

“She’s going to need blood…type O positive…we…we don’t have any here…but…th-there’s a blood bank just down the…down the street.” Greggory stated, never once blinking or looking up at them.

Leo opened his eyes to glance at Raph who was watching him intently with knitted eye ridges. Leo knew Raph was thinking the same as he was, and as Raph caught his knowing glance, they both nodded.

“Which way?”

 

* * *

Donatello had done everything in his abilities to get Gwen sewn up enough and stable enough to be moved. He was amazed to find she still had a pulse, no matter how weak it was, it was still there fighting to stay steady. Looking up into Michelangelo’s eyes, he offered him a small smile. He knew it wasn’t much, but he knew no words could help make his brother feel more at ease as he gently though tightly held Gwen’s hand. Bandaging her lower abdomen and finding a heavy blanket tucked away on a shelf, Donatello watched as Mike carefully cradled her in his arms as he covered her.

Opening the door, Don stepped into the hallway first, trying his hardest to ignore the blood that covered his hands and thighs. Followed closely by Michelangelo, Don looked around for his two older brothers. It wasn’t like them to just take off like that, but then again, given the circumstances; he couldn’t really blame either one of them.

“They went with Greggory to a blood bank…for Gwen…Oh my God, Gwen!” Angie cried as she finally saw the blanket Mikey was cradling closely to his chest. Tears welling up in her eyes, she looked between her best friend and her boyfriends’ brother sorrowfully.

“Is…is she…she’s not…” She stammered, unable to bring herself to say the words. Don shook his head and gave a small—though forced—smile.

“It’s ok, Angie…we just need to get her home, and soon. I’ll call Leo and let him know we’ll meet him back down at the lair and I’ll have everything ready to go. C’mon…”

Quickly and carefully the group made their way back to the waiting van and drove back to the safety of their hiding place. Ushering them all into the utility elevator Don had discovered when they were younger and was used on the occasions of needing to bring bigger supplies down to their home; he closed the safety gate and quickly hit the button sending them down to subterranean level of Manhattan.

Things seemed to move in a blur for Michelangelo. He barely remembered getting back down to the lair and placing the thick protective blanket down on the hospital style bed Don had set up in his lab. He remembered the first time he’d seen the make-shift hospital room and felt his heart clench in pain. It had been in this room that he found out he was going to be a father, had seen the ink-blot like image on the static filled monitor screen. Pulling the blanket away from Gwen’s face, he frowned at the thought of never getting to meet their child, of never getting to read it stories, teach them to read or write, of never getting to eat the cookies and drink the milk on Christmas Eve so he could tell them the next morning that Santa  _loved_ the treats left for him.

He watched as Donatello moved the blanket some so it was covering her from the shoulders down, and gently placed her arms on the outside of the blanket. They’d only been down there minutes when Raph and Leo arrived carrying with them arm loads of blood sectioned off into their own little bags. Tossing two to Don, Raph stuffed the rest into his brothers’ mini-fridge. Careful so he didn’t spill any, Donatello poured it into a glass canning jar and tightened the lid. Stabbing a hole into it and shoving a small rubber hose into the end, he carefully attached the make-shift IV to an old coat rack before slowly pushing the needle into Gwen’s arm. They watched as the red liquid slowly started to drip down the hose before finally starting its steady flow into her body.

“Raph? Get another one ready…I have the feeling this is gonna take awhile.”

 

* * *

Hours passed slowly for everyone and they had used the majority of the blood Leo and Raph had taken from the blood bank. The color had finally returned to Gwen’s face and her body temperature was steadily rising back to its normal 98.6 degrees. Donatello’s only concern was the risk she ran of developing a fever. He knew that in her weakened state, if she were to develop a fever, it was all over for her.

As the hours went on, the brothers and their new friends sat in the living room, waiting for any word on the improvement of their patient. Splinter had ushered Michelangelo and Donatello out some time before and was left alone with her so that he might use his ninja training and skills to help her heal faster and to also attempt to clear her mind of any upsetting memories from the past month and a half. It was a difficult process, but if there was one thing the old rat had plenty of, it was patience. Try as he might though, the one memory that refused to be cleared from her mind, was that of the baby Gwen and Mikey had been robbed of.

Sitting on the arm of Donatello’s chair, Julie reached down to pet Doogie’s head lightly. She hadn’t said much since her first meeting with everyone, and the silence in the room was making her even more uncomfortable. She gave a small smile as she felt Don’s arm slowly and carefully slide around her waist to keep her from falling. That was one of the things Julie loved about Don. He didn’t treat her differently just because she was blind, but he did always make sure she was protected from things that could pose a silent threat to her. Finally raising her head though, she felt her cheeks warm as she realized she’d never been properly introduced to his family. Giving a small smile, she couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“Um…I just remembered in all the excitement, Donnie never actually introduced me. I’m Julie Alexander and this hound on the floor is Doogie. I’m uh…I’m Don’s girlfriend.”

The others looked up and offered a small smile to the pair as Donatello’s cheeks gained a faint red tint to them. Chuckling slightly, Leonardo shook his head as he stood from the couch.

“Welcome to the madness.” He said jokingly as he moved his way towards the dojo. Angela, who had snuggled herself into Raphael’s arms a few hours earlier, looked over at Julie and smiled brightly. She was just about to ask a question when Splinter emerged from the lab. He looked tired and drained as he slowly approached the couch in which Michelangelo had perched himself on. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Splinter sighed heavily.

“She is awake, now…my son. You may go to her now.” He said softly as he moved off to his meditation room.

Barely waiting for him to move out of his way, Michelangelo leapt off the couch and hurried into the lab. Feeling his emotions start to wreck havoc on him once more, Mike felt a choked up sob like laugh escape his mouth when he saw she really was awake. He could not believe how close he had come to losing her, how close he’d come to losing his sanity over her, and yet there she sat. Though he knew it would take time for her to regain strength and body mass and return to her somewhat normal self, he couldn’t help but feel his heart soar at the sight of her.

Rushing to her side, Michelangelo carefully gathered her up in his arms and held her close. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and onto her matted, stringy hair as he gently rocked her in his arms and kissed her head. He felt her fingers as they wrapped around his arms in an attempt to hold him as well and felt another sobbed laugh escape his lips.

“Aw Gwen…I…I was so worried about you! Aw babe…I’ve missed you so much.” He said, trying to calm himself down enough to talk. He felt Gwen tense slightly in his arms as she rested her head on his plastron.

“The…the baby…Mikey…o-our baby…” she stammered, her voice still hoarse and struggled. Gulping back more tears, Mike shook his head as he pulled back from her and very gently brushed the hair from her face.

“It’s gone, Gwen. I dunno how but…it is.” He answered softly, unable to look her in the eyes as he told her. A strange far off look appeared in Gwen’s eyes as she shook her head and rested a hand on her stomach.

“No…no she’s not. She’s out there somewhere, Mikey. I know she is…” Gwen trailed off as her eyelids grew heavy once more. Pressing his lips together, Mike nodded as he kissed her forehead and gently laid her back down on the bed. Running his hand down her cheek once more, he felt his determination reemerge.

“If she’s out there Gwen, we’ll find her. No matter how long it takes.”

**_To Be Continued…_ **


End file.
